


There is nothing you can do

by 13RedSuns (summerfolk)



Series: Holistic storm [1]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Curse Breaking, Dark Luke Skywalker, Hallucinations, M/M, Mind/Mood Altering Substances, The Mandalorian Darksaber (Star Wars), Time Loop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-23 15:54:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30057903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerfolk/pseuds/13RedSuns
Summary: While Grogu is learning the Way of the Force, Din is busy protecting the citizens of Mandalore and its moon Concordia from a nasty curse. He's surrounded by amazing beings who respect him and consider their leader, but he doesn't think that claiming the title of Mand'alor would solve any of their problems.He's got friends, a place to live, he's even agreed for a meeting with the New Republic to talk about the new Trade route connecting the Correlian Trade Spine with the northern Outer Rim.He is fine.But a few words said by an old friend render him restless and make him start listening to his own heart. Apparently, it wants to fix everything and so much more...
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Series: Holistic storm [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2211273
Comments: 17
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I  
> This is for MCR fans and those who are here because they read my MCR fics:  
> First of all, Congratulations with the Reunion! I just had to put it here, for the history ;)  
> Then, if you liked my stories because of the plot, you might also like this one. The plot is different, of course, but it's kind of freaky.  
> You might also need to like Din Djarin and Luke Skywalker, but I can't believe it should be difficult :)  
> Thank you for following anyway. You're the best!
> 
> II  
> This is for everyone:  
> My sincere apologies for the errors, typos, sentence structure, all that stuff. It hasn't been proofread yet, and that's the reason I post it as a WIP. If you can help me turn this 50K monstrosity into a readable fic, let me know (preferably via pm). I'm 13RedSuns on tumblr (it's not a blog, just a way to communicate).  
> The first part of the series is finished, but I will have to change the number of chapters depending on my proofreading progress.
> 
> I was raised by John Crichton from Farscape and didn't pay much attention to the other things happening in the sci-fi world, so I had to catch up with nearly everything that had happened after the Classic Trilogy in the Star Wars universe. I tried to be careful with the canon, but at some point I just couldn't digest any more information about the Clone Wars characters, although I must admit, some of them seemed deserving of their own fic.
> 
> I wasn't even thinking about writing a fic in this fandom until that closing scene where CGI Luke Skywalker shows up and just...I don't know. I just love this guy, and this fic is probably my way to accept whatever happens in the season three of the Mandalorian, considering we all know what happens twenty five years after the season two.
> 
> Disclaimer:  
> I make no profit from this endeavor, all the characters belong to their rightful owners.  
> My Original character Talyn shares a name with a living ship from the Farscape universe, but nothing more :)  
> I wish all of us as much kindness and love as our hearts can handle.
> 
> Additional warning (Includes a massive spoiler):  
> The first part of the series ends with a cliffhanger. It's not bad, more like a Quantum Leap kind of one, but if that's not your cup of tea, please consider not reading the fic, at least until both parts are posted.

Concordia, 12 ABY

Cara Dune approaches Concordia in her hybrid scout starship, the Sonic Needle. Just like Din said, the coordinates he sent her is a mere point in space from which she must navigate manually. “I can work with that,” she says, taking in the completely transformed look of the moon. According to the documents, before the Great Purge, it used to be covered with green forests and misty mountains, and now there is an ocean that takes up nearly half of the moon’s surface, something that looks like a desert, and a long mountain chain that stretches all the way across Concordia’s as long as the eye can see. “Must be the Celestial mountains,” Cara says directing the ship to the desert as instructed.

Once she’s there, six armored Mandalorians on jetpacks surround the Sonic Needle, and one of them gestures for Cara to open the comm channel. She sends her security code, and after it’s been confirmed they ask her to follow them. Maybe Cara imagine things, but one of the guards keeps looking at her through the visor as if he can’t let her out of his sight. “What’s this guy’s problem?” She mumbles under her breath, but soon she is hovering above a docking pad, and there is a figure standing at the mech hangar watching her descent.

Cara shakes her head, a warm feeling spreading through her chest. “I was wondering, just before taking off, how I was going to recognize you among your kind, with the helmets on and the armor, and the general crankiness.” She hears a soft chuckle through the comm. “Now I see I needn’t have worried.” And that is true - the familiar posture, the way he bends his head aside just a little when he sees someone he recognizes, the frayed cape - these things just scream Din Djarin.

“What can I say? I am one of a kind,” he waves for her escort to drop the chase, and as they fly off Cara thinks that the armor can easily be told apart. It differs in colors, shapes of the plates, little details in the accessories, not to mention the body language of the wearer which gets magnified when the armor is on. “I see you got yourself a new ride,” Din says making her pay attention to the ship’s landing rather than watch the retreating guards.

“Well, the perks of being the Marshall in the Outer Rim mean the New Republic will try to bribe you with all the best things they have to offer.” Cara’s eye catches a one-man show starring the intense guard reluctantly flying away and changing his course several times to check out the Sonic Needle. It seems like he doesn’t do it on purpose, just out of an instinct ingrained into his very being not to trust anyone even when he’s told to do so. Cara kind of respects that. “You could have become one, you know, once you are tired of whatever this gig you’re having here.”

“I will probably get back to you on this.” Din turns away to greet a stocky Ugnaught fellow in a mech jumpsuit who joins him.

Cara kills off the engine and slides her gloved hand along the dashboard. “Well, here we are. Behave yourself, this is a friend’s place. They will take good care of you, I’m sure. No accidental combustion or firearms activation.”

Cara walks down the ramp and takes in the small docking base. It looks modest, no cutting-edge tech or extensive repairs area, but it looks well kept. There are several droids operating the cargo shuttles, fuel pods, and the navigation deck. Other mechs are working on fire extinguisher transport which looks like it has been in a garbage smasher.

“I see you’ve redecorated.” The mountains are sharp, their peaks are slicing through the sky like a well-sharpened blade, the wind is strong but clean with a tang of the ocean salt. The clouds in the sky are purple and grey, the yellow-red streaks of the settling sun cast them into a soft warm glow. The desert does not look like a wasteland, it’s brimming with potential, and Cara can’t fathom why, but she can’t take her eyes off the river running through the valley.

“Had to get busy being stuck on that rock, you know, playing a good host for whatever is brought by the curse.” Slowly, Din walks to the ship.

“That bad, huh?”

“Behave yourself, and I will let you play with the next one.”

“Sounds like fun,” Cara stands in front of him and guesses at the face expression he’s sporting behind the helmet.

“Regardless of the amount of fun you get, promise me to leave a good review.” Din pulls her in a tight hug. “Welcome to Concordia.”

And there is no doubt he is the same old Mando she’d met a few years ago on Sorgan. “So good to see you, Mando.” Din hums and points at the speeder parked nearby so they move towards it.

“Karga sends his regards. I’ve got some boxes in the cargo bay. A token of friendship from Nevarro to Mandalorians. Some treats are a rare thing even for such a trade-friendly hub as ours.”

“Tyke,” Din turns to the Ugnaught mech walking beside them and makes a small gesture with his head. The mech nods and punches some buttons on his droids control unit.

“He shouldn’t have,” Din says as he offers his hand to Cara when they board the speeder. “We’re doing fine. Not perfect but it’s a start. Some people we rescued from the slavers had nowhere to go, so they stayed here, set up crops and cattle farms. I believe we’ve already celebrated the first harvest.”

“Must be hard with all those storms and fires plaguing the land.” Din didn’t share much with her during their on and off communication, but she knows it’s been vexing for them to say the least.

“Usually, it starts in the desert, so we have time to prepare for it. We’ve developed a system to neutralize the damage, but yeah, sometimes there is just nothing we can do.” Din salutes Tyke, and they drive off. “I will send my thanks to Karga.”

“If you ask me,” Cara raises her voice a notch to be heard over the engine’s hum, “I think you should charge him with monthly shipments. He’s so proud of being a friend and an ex-employer of the king of Mandalore, no one dares to cross him after he shares that detail.”

“I should probably kill him for that,” Din muses, “or like you said, make him send over supplies.”

***

While they’re riding through the forest, Cara is amazed by the diverse fauna living there. She’s spotted a few animals she’d never heard of although she’d seen a fair share of rare species in her life. Some of the beasts look dangerous with their sharp teeth and long rounded claws, but Din just rides past them as if they’re his neighbors. The forest gradually thins out as they approach a small settlement bustling with life. The farmers are carrying baskets with crops, there is a construction or repair work here or there, the droids are handling heavy cargo and some of them are accompanying groups of children through the messy street traffic. And among all of them, there are Mandalorians in their armor busy with whatever task they’ve been assigned of, that being helping a child get their favorite pet off a tree or peering into a blueprint of a starship or a map of Mandalore.

“Well, this is it.” They stop at a two-storey building with a domed roof. It looks significant somehow, like it’s the center of the social life around here, and it’s big enough to accommodate the whole population of the settlement at once.

“Impressive,” Cara says with a smile. She feels curious looks on the two of them, but no one disturbs them when they enter the building.

The first room is a cantina of some sort. It must be also a council hall Cara realizes when she notices a familiar table tucked in the corner of the room. They would slide it to the center and discuss important matters with each person having a say on the topic should they wish to express themselves. Din started the tradition when they were stationed aboard the Imperial cruiser. There were about thirty Mandalorians from different parts of the galaxy, some of them, just like Din himself, had no knowledge of the Mandalorians living outside the Children of the Watch Creed. Some of them, however, remembered the peaceful rule of Duchess Satine Kryze and wanted their lives return to those times. Din had two droids dismantle the table from the cruiser’s bridge and bring it to the canteen. It was spacy, the tables could be easily moved around, chairs rearranged so anyone could participate in the discussion.

The tradition must have lived on, Cara smiles to herself, looking at the table which once was a tool for bringing disasters and now being polished, redecorated and dutifully repurposed.

“Are you hungry?” Din asks, drawing Cara away from her thoughts. “They will serve lunch in a few minutes, and it’s going to be pretty crowded. I can ask Triana bring us something out back. There’s plenty of room there, and we could talk in quiet.”

“I’d like that,” Cara says and watches Din whisper something to a Bothan lady wearing a colorful dress and an apron. She has a kind smile, and she pats Din’s hand reassuringly before disappearing into adjoining room.

The cantina starts filling in with visitors, most of them are humans, some of them wear the Mandalorian armor, but there are also Sullistans in pilot jumpsuits, Rodians, Ugnaughts, and maybe some other species - Cara doesn’t have time to take them all in before Din ushers her to a room at the back of the building.

The office has a large window overlooking the alley with warehouses. They must be keeping their most precious cargo there Cara thinks since it requires the officer’s attention. Or maybe the said officers aren’t picky in regards of the view. Din certainly isn’t. There are several working desks with personal items on them, but other than the two of them, the room is empty.

“Bo-Katan and Koska are on a field duty all day, Axe and Fenn are off to Concord Dawn, I guess, we could talk here in peace.” Din leads Cara to a plushy sofa at the window and takes off his helmet putting it on a small table nearby. Cara is relieved to see him take it off, but she still cannot get used to seeing his face.

“Getting prettier every time I see you,” she mocks good-heartedly. Din blushes a little, but he seems pleased with the compliment. “And what’s with the luxury furniture?” Cara points at the sofa they’re sitting on, “Not that I’m complaining, but I would never peg Mandalorians as the comfort-driven hosts.”

Din scrunches up his nose. “It’s Ariel, my second commander. He comes from a wealthy clan although he refuses to say which one stating that he’d left that life behind him.” There is a knock on the door followed by Triana walking in with a food tray. “His habits, though, don’t seem to change much. He says we need something nice to treat our guests with otherwise they will be less inclined to agree with us.”

“Well, the sofa is definitely a start, but I suspect the main asset backing up your argument would be that deliciously smelling food,” Cara eyes the bowls with broth and the plate with cheese and bread, and her stomach starts to grumble.

Din thanks Triana for the food, and she ruffles his hair before leaving them alone. It is surprising that Din allows other people to touch his head, but, again, from Tirana’s wise and caring demeanor it is easy to guess she’d become a mother figure for many warriors living here.

They eat in silence, and then Din pours them some tea and rests his back against a pillow. He doesn’t look particularly relaxed, but Cara thinks it’s the best he can allow himself considering his restless lifestyle in the past, and that’s something.

“So how long has it been?” Cara asks absent-mindedly.

“Three years, give or take.” Din’s eyes become clouded for a second, and Cara wonders where his thoughts have taken him. Or to whom, maybe.

“I can’t believe so much time have passed. Seems like a month ago we were standing on that bridge. It must be different for you though, taking over Concordia, discovering explosives on Mandalore, having to deal with the creatures being dropped off on you literally out of thin air.”

“It felt exciting at the beginning. You know, creatures we’ve never heard of, some of them violent, some scared but gentle. I try to rescue as many as would let me do that, but I must say it’s getting kind of old. Once there was that creature wailing in the desert, no doubt an aquatic kind, huge teeth, the thickest skin I’ve ever seen. And where do we take it? We didn’t even have an ocean until a year ago. I thought it would disappear in a day or two just like the other anomalies, but it looks like the ocean is here to stay. At least now we can drop some of the beasts in it and deal with them later if they’re trouble. Besides, the tornadoes, volcanoes, hurricanes, fires, downpours - you name it - I can see people are getting tired of that curse. The spirit is strong, but we might need a miracle soon. Since we’d found out that Mandalore is a ticking bomb, and we haven’t mapped out even the half of the rhydonium stashes on the planet, there is nowhere for us to go. We need this moon, and the curse is starting to get the best of us.”

“Well, not all the best.” Cara sips the tea and recalls everything she’s seen since she left the Sonic Needle. “You treat those beasts with kindness, you gather best people around you, and seriously, how did you convince Triana to work for you?”

Din shrugs as if this question never occurred to him. “She’s been living here with her nephews and grandchildren after the Battle of Endor. An imperial pilot helped them escape the prosecution and hid them in the Concordian base. Formally, they were prisoners, but knowing Triana I think she’d found her way to their hearts and was left alone for most of the time. I guess, when we arrived, the troopers were so exhausted by the curse, they didn’t even put up a fight not to mention taking care of their prisoners. I asked Triana if she wanted to be taken somewhere else, but she refused. The kids liked it here, and there was so much work to do, there’s still is. And she’s very intelligent. No wonder the troopers treated her with the respect she deserves.”

Cara nods, understanding. “What about the Ugnaughts?”

“Oh, those are the best mechanics I’ve ever met. I told them to leave, they’d worked enough for this life and a few more lives ahead, but when the last stormtrooper’s ship had been chased away or blown up, they asked permission to stay. I don’t know what they find in here, they’re such hardworking folks, they could happily live on their own and prosper.”

“Well, maybe they’d found something worth staying where they were,” Cara teases. “You know what? I think this curse is giving you means to resist it.”

Din’s hands never touch his face, it’s so unusual for a human being, but Cara notices he busies his hands with a metal ball, a knob, probably one of a very few things he has left of the Razor Crest. “Maybe you’re right,” he says quietly. Then he tucks the ball in a small inside pocket of his bandolier and puts his hands on his knees moving closer to Cara. “Tell me about you. How have you been?”

Cara recalls the past three years. “The same, for the most part. The New Republic is getting stronger, the Imperial Remnant is being pushed further into the Unknown Territories or destroyed. Moff Gideon’s trial had been exhausting. As an arresting officer I had to be present at all hearings, and it took almost a year.”

“I heard about that. I still wonder why he lied to me about taking Grogu’s blood. Have you discovered anything new about it?”

“Not since we’d searched every inch of that cruiser of his, no. I’ve traced every transport that’d been in contact with them, still, no sign of blood samples. The New Republic has no idea about their little project on Nevarro, and I plan to leave it that way. Gideon hadn’t been asked about it during his trial as long as I know, so I guess the only one who might know something is Pershing.”

“I don’t want to talk to him about anything. I’m not sure I did the right thing not giving him up to the New Republic.”

“You did, believe me. I’ve heard some senators were trying to revoke that arrangement with Mandalorians. They would question him about his work, and honestly, I don’t think he wouldn’t talk under pressure. Senator Organa however stood her ground and closed the argument once and for all. She is such a fierce fighter when she has to stand her ground. I respect her for that.”

“Yeah, about that.” Din shifts a bit closer to her. “Do you know the members of the New Republic Senate well?”

“Only those I’d met during that creep’s trial. I know of some of them if that’s what you’re interested in. Why?”

“Well, despite the curse, or maybe because of it, more Mandalorians are joining our cause. Commanders take over the Imperial Cruisers, clans are reaching out wondering who has the Darksaber now. This is getting bigger.”

“So, you’ve finally agreed to take the place that’s rightfully yours?” Cara frowns at her own choice of wording. She’s never thought of Din as a ruler of anything other than his own destiny, but somehow she knows there is no better man for the job.

“No-no. Not like that.” He becomes very still, and Cara wonders why he feels guilty about something he could never control. She probably needs to clear some things out with Bo-Katan.

“Din, listen to me, you’re doing an amazing job here. Honestly, when I first met you, I doubted you could take care of one tiny little kid, not to mention decide a future of an entire population.”

“You weren’t wrong.” He scoffs.

“I was.” She insists. “We both were, and looking at you right now, I cannot imagine anyone who would be a better match for the job than you are. Maybe you’d never wanted this responsibility, but who knows, maybe this is exactly why you have to take it.” Din tiredly rubs his eyes and then blinks a few times staring in an empty space in front of him. “What is it?”

He sighs. “Somehow, the word got out that I’d won the Darksaber, and several clans have pledged their allegiance to me, which really had been an accident, however we’d all agreed that it was not the time for disputes, and I should be considered the Regent of Mandalore until we have the planet restored, dealt with the curse and gathered all clans and single warriors to decide together what to do with the Mandalore’s throne.

“Nevertheless, I’ve received an invitation from the New Republic’s Council to attend one of their sessions about a new trade route near the Mandalore sector. I didn’t want to even think about going, but Bo-Katan thinks it would be a good way for us to announce our presence in the Council. She wants me to accept the invitation, and I realized we need this trade route as much as they need our protection in the sector.”

“I see,” Cara rests her hands on the back of the sofa watching Din with equal amounts of amusement and pride, “Mando the Diplomat.” With his instincts to see behind the species’ exteriors and the excuse to hide his own face at all times, he could get anything he wants from the Council. “But how can I help you? I’m sure you’ve got someone who is more familiar with these things. Bo-Katan, for sure.”

“What she can tell me I already know. And I do have someone teaching me the diplomatic tricks. But between Ariel and Bo-Katan, I have no one I can trust to tell me what really is going on at those meetings.”

“Well, in that case,” Cara fights the blush creeping up her cheeks, “I will tell you everything I know and haven’t sworn to forget about.”

“I will really appreciate that,” Din smiles, and it’s such a sincere and open smile she knows she will tell him anything regardless of the security level of the information.

Cara makes a mental note to revise these sudden emotions when she’s bored enough. “I spotted the table from the cruiser. Is it hard to keep such a diverse population in peace?”

Din shakes his head and looks out of the window. It’s not like he’s watching someone or searching for something with his eyes, more like the stare is just a reflection of his mind looking for the right words. “It’s fine. I don’t want to brag or spoil it anyhow, I know it’s stupid, but it’s good, you know.”

Cara knows. Serving the community and seeing the fruits of the hard work, there are not many things that can compete with that. “The folks I saw seem to be taken care of, the beasts in the forest included.”

“Being able to do something is the best part, of course. But I won’t lie to you, these meetings are the worst. I never thought it could take so much time for a person to express their opinion. Sometimes Ariel has to break in and ask them leading questions.”

Cara winces. “I kind of know what you mean.”

“The worst of it is their voices.” Din continues, deeply immersed in the memories. “Wearing the helmet at all times, only now have I learned to appreciate the mercy it bestows upon me. Some of the voices are so squeaky and plainly irritating, I can’t even get over the sound to hear the actual message.

“Is my voice irritating?” Cara tries to remember her own voice from the recorded messages, but she’s never even thought about comparing it to other voices.

Din frowns, sounding thoughtful. “No. No, your voice is fine. Bo-Katan’s voice is quite good too.” His gaze wanders about the room as if searching for something. “I think Ashoka’s voice is nice too, but I don’t remember it that well.”

That seems like a familiar territory to Cara, but she understands it cannot be that simple for Din. “Is Omera’s voice any good?” She asks with a smile she can’t fight.

“Who’s Omera?”

“All right.” Cara knows it’s been three years, but she still cannot believe this is happening. “What’s going on? Have you accidentally fallen for someone, and forgotten to tell me?”

“What? No!” Din grumbles. “Why would I do that?”

“Well, it’s not something you consciously choose to do, usually.” Cara realizes nothing called usual can be applied to Mando. “It just sneaks up on you, like a nice voice.”

Din makes a face which looks like he’s arguing with someone inside his head. “Good voices don’t sneak up on you. That’s why they’re good. They’re calm, smart, soothing like a warm wind.”

Cara gives up. Mentally she waves her hands in surrender. “So…Who else has a good voice?”

“I don’t know. There are so many creatures around me all the time…Sometimes I think I hear a voice that sounds good, but it’s never the same person.”

“You know what I think?” Cara opens her mouth to continue, but there is a man storming into the room. He’s wearing the armor and the helmet on.

“What is the meaning of this?” He doesn’t greet Din, but when he sees Cara, he deflates a little. “Uh, Commander, my apologies.” Then he looks at Din’s helmet which is obviously not on Din’s head, and Cara can tell he’s in indecision of what makes him angrier - the original outrage that got him bursting into the room or the fact that Din has taken the helmet off in front of another person. To his credit, he remains silent.

“Talyn,” Din says in a calm voice, “meet my good friend Carasynthia Dune, she’s a Marshal of the New Republic on Nevarro. I trust her with my life. Cara, this is Talyn Clarke, the Commander of Concordia security.”

“You’re the one who followed my ship here,” Cara says with a knowing smile.

“Uh. Yes. That’s what I did. What I do.” He sounds lost.

“He’s fierce,” Cara tells Din pointing a finger at Talyn.

Din’s expression betrays nothing, “Did you want something?”

Talyn straightens up immediately. “Yes. I’ve just heard about the Council.”

“Oh, that. Sure. I want you to go with our party,” Din deadpans. Whoever his mentor is, Cara thinks, he’s good.

“That’s surely not necessary,” Talyn tentatively disagrees. “I have to be here.” And then his voice gets louder. “I have a duty to protect the moon!”

Din doesn’t sound impressed though. “Your duty will be here when you come back. I promise you that. If you’ve trained your soldiers right, they can take care of the guests Bo-Katan has invited, and Cara will keep an eye on out pets. It’s just a couple of days anyway.”

“But I have no business being there among those pompous, self-serving, corrupt, greedy fools.”

Din looks at his helmet longingly. “Talyn, you are the Commander of Concordia Security. You are my trusted ally, and the New Republic representatives must see you there, recognize you as one of our leaders. You will never gain their respect if you hole up on Concordia and throw insults like that even though you’ve never seen those people.”

“I don’t need to see them to know what they are. I’d better meet them in an honest combat.” But it’s clear in the sound of his voice that his resolve is wavering.

“You’re going.” Din says calmly, and Cara is sure she can hear the voice modulator inside Talyn’s helmet is trying to compensate for the sounds of his angry breathing and the jaws creaking. His pulse is probably beating so hard in his temples the skin might just burst.

“Some of them are real twats,” she says in hopes to discharge the mood even a tiny bit. “Some of them are very honest and noble people. I hope you meet them.”

Talyn storms away without a word.

“Such an intense young man. And already in charge of the security.” There must be a story to that. “What had he done?”

“He hates me.” Din says with a kind smile. “I saved his life, and now he thinks he owes me one. But he hates me for betraying the creed. He’s uh…he was raised in another covert on Dathomir, barely had time to take his creed before they had been discovered and snatched by slavers. He was supposed to be filling the tunnels on Mandalore with rhydonium, but the clunker they were transported on was attacked by pirates, the cargo bay where they were held got decompressed, and they were all dead within minutes. Talyn had been thrown into the open space and instantly picked by scavengers who brought him to Concordia. That’s where I found them trying to peel off his armor and torture him. But I got them first.”

Cara blinks. “Wow.”

Din slides the palm of his hand along the side of his face. “Yeah.”

“But why can’t he walk away? I mean if he hates you so much.”

“I told him he owes me nothing, but Talyn thinks his life is now in my hands. But he’s so young and full of life, I couldn’t find a better job for him to apply his passion. I just hope that one day he will allow himself the freedom he deserves.”

“What about you? Is he insulting you in front of the others?”

“He’s respectful. He throws all his anger at me when we’re alone, and I have already gotten so much of it, I now find it therapeutic. If I can take a young Mandalorian warrior despising me for breaking the creed, I think I can take the rest of it. Except, of course, if something happens to Grogu, but you know what I mean.”

Cara shakes her head. “You’re incredible, Mando.”

For the second time in the last ten minutes, Talyn bursts into the office. “Commander, there’s another one. It’s-,” he catches a breath, “it’s breathing fire.”

Din acknowledges the news with a curt nod, and Talyn rushes away.

“Would you do me the honor and join me in slaying a fire-breathing beast?” Din wastes no time grabbing his helmet and offering his open hand to Cara.

She takes his hand and follows his lead. “I thought you’d never ask!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't make myself use the canon swearing, it just doesn't sound right. So, no Dank Farrik, sorry.

When Cara gets to the desert on a speeder bike, all available Mandalorians seem to be there attacking a giant reptile and trying to hit it with blasters and their metal rods. In return, the creature throws its huge killer-tale around and breathes out clouds of fire making them retreat and clear their visors.

Cara spots Din standing about a hundred meters away from the scene talking with two officers. When she catches up to them, she recognizes Talyn who nods at her while the other officer takes his time to shake Cara’s hand.

“Carasynthia Dune, Ariel Stype,” Din introduces them quickly.

“At your service, my Lady,” Ariel bows holding her hand to his breastplate where his heart is supposed to be. “Your bravery and honor made you a legend among Mandalorians.”

Cara raises an eyebrow taking her hand back. “They did, huh?” She tries a quick look at Din but he’s too busy for a small talk casting about for something they could use against the beast.

“We need water,” he says, then they hear a sound of a droid beeping and turn its way. The droid is running a transport pod with a fire extinguishing unit that uses ice and the mix of chemicals to provide a thick stream of foam that instantly puts out flames. “No! we need ice!” Din runs to the transport and hovers above the confused droid. “Can you crush the ice?”

The droid bleeps something which probably answers his question, but Din does not know that since he never bothered to learn Binary. He goes around the pod and opens the ice tank, “I need you to crush it!” He makes a few stabbing gestures with his hand for a better reference.

The droid, expectedly, keeps bleeping. “It says you need the powder to make the foam.” Talyn points at the compartment with a warning sign on the lid. “It has to-“

“No, no foam. Just ice. Can it crush it and then feed into the hose?” Din shoots impatient glances at the beast every time he hears its roar.

“It is possible, yes.” Talyn turns his head around. “We need more extinguishers.” Then he addresses the droid. “Contact other units. We need all of them right now with tanks full of crushed ice. No foam. Understand?” The droid bleeps merrily. “Good. Go on.”

“What is your plan?” Cara asks Din.

“I don’t know yet. We need this thing to stop breathing fire at us. Maybe we could knock it out and move closer to the ocean.” Ariel starts talking to someone over the comm and runs away. “Where do you think you’re going?” Din yells after him, but Ariel keeps running. Din just waves at him dismissively. “Move in pairs,” he instructs Talyn, “two distract it, two throw ice in its mouth. Another pair hits it with something heavy at the back of its head. No deadly hits.”

“But-“

“Unless it’s unavoidable,” Din clarifies. Talyn nods and takes off to fly closer to the fighting scene. “He never told me he spoke droids,” Din watches several transport pods with fire extinguishing units follow Talyn’s lead.

“Do you think it would work?” Cara asks as they move on.

“Din! Wait up!” Ariel and an Ithorian specimen run towards them waving their hands demanding attention.

“What is it?” Din gestures for them to fall in step and talk as they go.

“Tell him,” Ariel nods at the Ithorian guy.

“I am Doctor Won Kritzer. Being young and naïve, I was tricked into joining the Celestial Power Project and had to work on the Death Star as a slave, but I was lucky enough to be saved by my Mandalorian friend, and now I ask you to allow me to return the favor by offering my services as a scientist.”

“It is all very touching, but why are we talking about this right now?” The first tank of ice is thrown into the beast’s mouth, and Din doesn’t take his eyes off the scene.

“You see, the bunt teeth, the bone structure of this animal says it’s not a predator. They don’t use fire to cook their meals, but merely for breathing in a very humid atmosphere.”

The beast coughs a couple of times, loses its balance, but avoids a hit in the head by a sudden body twist that looks like a shock spasm.

“Give me something I can use, Doc.” Din watches the creature throwing its massive tale in attempt to hit the transport pods.

“Of course. We can put it to sleep. Shoot it with a sedative in the fire glands, so its metabolism would kick in with a compensatory slumber. I believe it should give us some time to transfer it to the other side of the ocean where the rainfalls are very frequent this time of year. Further from the coastline, in the forest, I believe there is a lake large enough to host a beast like that.”

“Ariel, can you find me a needle big enough to pierce its skin?” Ariel just nods and activates his jetpack. When he leaves, Din turns to the Doctor. “Are you sure this would work?”

The Doctor shrugs. “It is worth a try. You could always kill it with your Darksaber. A simple thrust under its eye socket, and it’s over.”

Ariel lands beside them and shoves a giant semi-automatic syringe in his hands. “The Ugnaughts say they used to shoot Mudhorns with this thing,” and the tilt in his voice means all the pun intended.

“Very funny,” Din grumbles.

“The skin at the bottom of the gland should be very soft,” the Doctor suggests.

Din looks questioningly at Cara.

“I’ll see if the guys with the hoses need any help.” She watches Din take off and runs toward the transport pod which has lost its Mandalorian operators – one of them has gotten hit by the beast’s tale, and the second one just flails uselessly not knowing whether to keep manning the fire hose or help their comrade.

“Go!” Cara yells at the confused soldier. “Go help your friend, bring him to the medics. I’ll take care of this.”

The soldier nods and does as instructed.

Cara gently smacks the dome of the droid. “Bring me closer to its mouth.”

The droid bleeps and lifts the pod. Cara sees Din trying to approach the creature from behind and waves at the other Mandalorians to move closer to her and distract the animal. Two other pods approach from the opposite sides of its head, the hoses with ice pointed at its mouth. There is desperation in the creature’s eyes, and Cara understands that there will be no more tries. It has to be now, or Din would have no choice but kill it.

“Din,” Cara asks him through the comm. “Are you in position?”

“I am, shoot.”

“Go!” Cara yells and activates the fire hose. The throwback is stronger than she’d anticipated, and she has to stand down on one knee to restore her balance. That makes the ice flow hit lower, just under the creature’s chin which makes it lift its head up while the other soldiers keep pouring ice in its mouth.

Din uses the beast’s open position and stabs it at the very base of the knob under its jaw. The needle easily pierces the skin, and the sedative is released into the tissue. The beast’s wail is heart-crushing. “Enough!” Cara cuts off the ice flow. “Stop icing it!” The other Mandalorians do the same while Din flies closer to the beast’s neck and holds it while it coughs and chokes.

After a short run of muscle spasms and a few more choking sounds, the beast falls to the ground.

While landing. Cara hears the cheerful whistles and the clasping of hands - the warriors celebrate their victory. She runs over to where Din is standing near the beast’s head and trying to find out if it’s still breathing.

“Talyn,” Din speaks through the open channel. “Is everyone accounted for? What happened to Bae?”

“He’s got some bruises, but he’s going to be fine.” Talyn lands beside him and commands everyone to gather up.

“Why are you cheering?” Din asks when most of the warriors are within talking range. “This creature is not supposed to be here. It’s been taken from its home and thrown out here alone, stripped of its land, its habitat, its real enemies, clan, family. It hasn’t been a fair fight for it. It’s been a tragedy.”

There is a ringing silence around them, and now they can hear soft snores coming from the creature’s muzzle. “Thank stars, it’s alive!” Cara lets out a breath.

The mood lightens up, and by the time Ariel and the Doctor walk over, the Mandalorians surround the creature and study it with curiosity as if they’ve gotten a new pet.

“What do you say, Doc? Will it survive a day on Concordia?” Din asks removing his helmet. “I didn’t quite get your name.”

“It’s Won Kritzer, at your service.” The Doctor holds out his hand for a shake. 

Din takes it with a nod. “Din Djarin.” 

Won Kritzer bows respectfully. 

“As for your question, I believe it has as many chances as any of us considering the circumstances. In a day or two we could all be killed by a scalding lava flow or a tornado we wouldn’t be able to stand up against.”

“True, yet, you said it needs a humid environment to be able to breathe properly. Is it really that rainy at the other side of the moon?”

“If nothing changes, it will start snowing in a couple of months, and I believe the creature’s fire glands will adjust to warm up the freezing water. You will have hot springs in the lake and its own beast.”

“Perfect. A spa resort would complete the set of attractions. Have we already printed out the information booklets?” Din shakes his head and tiredly looks at Ariel. “We need to find a transport that would fit in this monstrosity inside.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Ariel says confidently. Me and Talyn here will figure something out, right Talyn?” He puts a hand around Talyn’s shoulders getting a displeased grunt in return. “See? Nothing to worry about. Go do your homework before the big meeting with the New Republic’s snobs.”

“If you don’t mind, Commander,” Won Kritzer pipes in, “I would like to monitor this creature for some time, make sure it’s not a threat to itself or other animals living there.”

“Do you need something? A transport maybe?” Din notices the transport pod with the droid he had a one-sided chat earlier drive closer.

“That would be fantastic, thank you. I don’t think a trip on a speeder bike across the ocean would be the best option, besides, I’ve got a few students in the village. It would be a perfect studying opportunity for them too.”

“Ariel, will you assign our scientists a ride?”

“Of course,” Ariel pats the doctor on the back. “But I will have to meet those students of yours first, check if all of them are allowed to leave their location, you know.”

The Doctor nods. “Of course. Thank you.”

“You know what, Doc?” Din adds as an afterthought. “You should be here the next time someone shows up again. We could really use your expertise.”

Won Kritzer bows again. “I will be here, Commander.”

“Good.” Din’s eyes spark with a new hope. “Good job everyone! Ariel will assign those who help with moving the beast.” The soldiers salute and start to disperse.

Din walks closer to the droid in the transport pod. “Talyn, could you help me with this thing, please?”

“It’s actually an astromech droid, used to serve as one in a starship before the Mandalorian Civil War.” Talyn puts a hand on the droid’s dome and smiles when it starts bleeping.

“Did he tell you all that?”

Talyn crosses his hands on his chest. “It’s actually a _she_ , and yes, she told me that.”

Din shoots Cara a sideways glance, but she’s run out of comments prepared for the day.

“All right. Please tell her that I appreciate her help, it was very prompt and efficient. So, thank you. Also, if she needs any repairs or something…”

“Actually,” Talyn listens to the rapid bleeping sounds, “she was on her way to the mech station, the pod has not been taken care of in years, and it’s about to collapse at any minute.”

“Tyke will take care of the pod, I’m sure. Maybe she wants a new body and maybe change the station of service? We could also arrange that.”

Talyn listens to the bleeps and nods. “She says she wants to think about that, but she thanks you for the thought.”

Din takes a deep breath and puts the helmet on. Cara can tell Talyn tenses under the armor. “Thank you, Talyn.” Then he bumps Cara’s shoulder calling for her attention. “Shall we?”

*****

Cara slept like a baby that night. Apparently, there’s been a storm in the desert, but it didn’t reach the settlement, so no one disturbed her rest. A guesthouse she is staying in has about a dozen rooms, the furniture is very simple, but Cara is not picky. The bed is very soft, the linens are crispy clean, and it’s so quiet and peaceful, it reminds Cara of her days on Sorgan among the krill farmers. Maybe this is a place where Din can do some healing of his own.

It’s different now, though, she reminds herself. He’s not in hiding anymore, he’s learning to be someone new, someone different, not tied by a creed or the obligation to his people. Well, it’s never been that simple with Din and his relationships with the rest of the world as far as she knows, but the way he’s trying to follow his own truth, his principles, makes her believe he’s going to be just fine.

The only downside is that she has to go to cantina for a cup of coffee, which means she has to be nice before a shot of caffeine hits her blood.

That’s why she’s so happy to see that the place is empty apart from a table at the window where Cara spots Bo-Katan and Koska having their breakfast.

“Look who’s here!” Koska notices Cara first and stands up to give her a brief hug. Bo-Katan follows suit and invites Cara to join them. Cara heartfully agrees and asks Triana for the biggest cup of coffee she has.

“I believe you got an extraordinary demonstration of what’s going on here yesterday,” Bo-Katan looks a bit tired. “We’ve had quite a day ourselves having discovered a group of Ugnaughts hiding in the tunnels on Mandalore and threatening to blow up the planet if we didn’t leave them alone.”

“Spent the night trying to calm them down, called up Tyke, the informal leader of the Ugnaughts living on Concordia, but even after talking to him they demanded to speak with Din only,” Koska muffles a yawn of her own and asks Triana for another cup of coffee when she brings Cara hers.

“Is he there now?” Cara asks not even hiding the disappointment in her voice. “On Mandalore, I mean. I hoped to get a ride there, see it for myself.”

“If you stay as long as our return from the Council with the New Republic, I will take you there myself,” Bo-Katan offers enthusiastically.

Cara sighs in her giant mug. “As much as I would love to extend my stay here, I only have time to mind the shop until your return. I understand, with Talyn and Ariel joining you at the Council, you’re short of experienced officers.”

Bo-Katan tears a tiny piece of bread and drops in on the plate. “And with Axe and Fenn still helping clear out the Imperial Remnant on Concord Dawn, I’m afraid we have none. I expect a couple of my allies join us in a few weeks, but they too have some difficult decisions to make. It’s not like I asked them to join us in a fight against the bucketbrains and their greedy Moffs. It’s a mysterious power we have no knowledge about.”

The coffee does its magic, and Cara can already feel the wheels in her head turning. “Based on what I saw yesterday, everything works as a well-oiled machine. You needn’t worry. Should anything extraordinary happen, I will call you up right away.”

“Thank you, Cara. I know it works well given the circumstances, I just wish we could concentrate on restoring Mandalore.”

Cara recalls her conversation with Din last evening. “But this curse or whatever it is, it affects Mandalore as well, right?”

“When there is a disturbance on Concordia, it creates a ripple effect on Mandalore.” Koska explains with a mouthful of scrambled eggs. “We believe that’s why we haven’t mapped the tunnels with rhydonium yet. They move. We mark a spot at one place, return to the exact location to collect the stuff the next day – nothing, it’s gone.”

“Those Ugnaughts have spent in those tunnels five years at the least. According to those who survived the Imperials and the other scum which took a residence here while we were gone, it started out about five-seven years ago,” Bo-Katan adds. “I so hope they will agree to help us clear up the planet from the explosives, so we could finally fix it. It feels like we’re wasting our time here.”

“But it’s a good idea to start out from here. Maybe it’s not what you wanted, but you’ve got a place to be now. The atmosphere on Mandalore is barely breathable, you need resources and working hands to build the world anew. With Concordia being so close to Mandalore, you don’t need to rely on shady trade partners or untrustworthy allies. Maybe it’s a temporary home, but it’s still your home.” Cara thinks about Nevarro and how she thought it would be her temporary home too, until it became something more permanent. But Mandalore is right there, they can see it in the night sky, when Alderaan is no more.

“I know what you mean. It’d just been so damn long, and now that I finally have it right in front of me, I can touch it with my fingertips but can’t do anything to make it better. Feeling helpless is driving me mad sometimes.”

“Mando holds up pretty cool though,” Koska finishes her meal and rests her back against the chair. “He’s so natural in adjusting to all these freaky and uncanny things,” she shakes her head looking out of the window. “The best negotiator too.”

Bo-Katan shoots her an unimpressed stare, but Koska is completely oblivious of the fact that she might have hurt her friend’s feelings. Bo-Katan looks at Cara then and shrugs feigning defeat. “She’s right. Even if it all started with me babysitting Mando, fending off the stray mercenaries, smugglers, bounty hunters, the damn leaders of Clan Torch who wanted the Darksaber while Din plainly refused to wear the armor.”

“Wait a minute, I thought he’d won the combat without the armor or anyone’s help.” Cara remembers this story well because it was hilarious. She laughed for hours after Bo-Katan contacted her and asked to track the Armorer for her. It was true though, for a while, Din did refuse to wear the armor and it’s been a trying time for Bo-Katan, because anyone could use that at their advantage and claim the Darksaber for themselves. Cara still thinks Din would have defeated anyone with or without the armor though. He promised Grogu he would see him again, and Cara is sure Din knows how to keep his promises.

“Din defeated the eldest of three brothers. The other two are not much younger, and I assure you their mother wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to take her remaining chances while he was vulnerable like that.” Having caught herself getting agitated, Bo-Katan takes a deep breath. “It doesn’t really matter now. Mando is good at all these things. Even though he refuses to talk about the Darksaber and its value, I can feel he’s getting to know the weapon better, and it responds to him. I just wish not all his missions were rescue missions. I think it’s time to claim what’s ours.”

Cara thinks about Bo-Katan words. “I’m sure he’ll get there. He’s been a bounty hunter for all his adult life, and there was only one thing that he claimed for himself and had to give up eventually.”

“I know,” Bo-Katan readily agrees. “That’s why I’m still here following his lead.”

“How is he, by the way?” Cara asks intending to change the subject but still talk about Din.

“Strange as always,” Koska mutters with a frown.

Cara laughs. “No, I mean, yes. He’s been acting a bit strange yesterday and I thought, you know, maybe he’s finally taken an interest in someone. Romantically.”

Bo-Katan raises her eyebrows thoughtfully. “I don’t think I’ve seen him with someone. Young people from the village intimidate him with their bright smiles and big open eyes. He allows Mandalorians into his private space, but once they start flirting with him, he closes off. The only two people he lets in are Ariel and Talyn. And I’m sure it’s just camaraderie.”

“No, it’s not.” Koska’s eyes sparkle in anticipation of the gossip time. “He trusts Ariel to tell him when it’s time to put his guards up and when it’s safe to stay open. He likes connecting with people, animals, weapons, but he doesn’t have the armor or the creed to protect him from the world anymore. Yet, he does it anyway. Ariel adores him for such bravery.” Cara and Bo-Katan exchange amused looks while Koska takes a sip of her coffee. “Talyn is different though. I think Mando thinks of him as his younger brother. He protects him but allows making his own mistakes while Talyn pretends he hates him, but in reality he would give his life for Mando in an instant, and not because Talyn thinks he owes him one, but because he knows Mando is worth it.”

Bo-Katan turns to Koska with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” Koska asks. “I’m observant!”

“So, no girlfriend or boyfriend.” Cara clarifies.

“Nope,” Koska replies indulgently.

“I hope you will put your observation skills to a good use at the Council,” Bo-Katan suggests a bit grumpily.

“I sure will,” Koska says with a wink making Bo-Katan roll her eyes.

Cara thinks about checking on the Sonic Needle and has already opened her mouth to voice her excuse when she sees a familiar silhouette enter the cantina. “Crikking stars! Armorer!”

“It is a surprise to see you too, Carasynthia Dune.”

“It’s just Cara, I guess.”

“Please join us,” Bo-Katan offers, and Cara scoots over to make a room for the Armorer to sit next to her on the bench.

“I should probably offer you my name in return, but not all of us are adjusting our habits as quickly and willingly as one would expect.”

Cara muffles an indignant snort schooling her face into a diplomatic deadpan. “I wasn’t expecting anything although I must confess it’s good to put a name to an image. Ariel and Talyn don’t seem to mind.”

“Ariel had not sworn to the creed,” the Armorer states in a colorless tone.

“Hasn’t he taken his helmet off in front of you yet?” Koska asks her eyes widening.

Cara scratches her brow wondering if it’s a good or a bad sign. “Well, I only saw him on the Beast of the Lake rescue mission, and then Din and I took off to talk about the New Republic.”

“He must have taken interest in you then,” Koska suggests. “He never misses a chance to hit on a guest no matter how sweaty or out of place his hair is.”

“How many Mandalorians who belonged to the Children of the Watch tribes are there?” Cara asks clearly not going to discuss Ariel’s motivations.

Bo-Katan nods at the Armorer.

“Sixteen not counting Talyn. I’ve never heard of any coverts existing on Dathomir. Most likely, he was born there and then somehow got under an influence of a Children of the Watch Pilgrim. I suppose he belongs to an ancient culture, wild and powerful, it’s still strong within his spirit.”

“Trust Mando to find the most enigmatic people in the Galaxy and bring them together.” Koska says dreamily.

“I see you’ve become quite a fan,” the Armorer notices with irony.

“Is he still mad at you for hiding the truth about the Mandalorians for his whole life in the covert?” Koska tries to match the tone of the exchange, but’s clear that they all mean well.

This good-hearted teasing is their way to connect to each other while having such different backgrounds and loyalties, Cara thinks to herself. “Is he though?” She asks wanting to hear the answer.

The Armorer shrugs. “He might. Whichever this is, he hides it well. Of course, if him keeping harassing me with the armor improvement is not his idea of a good-old revenge.

“What does he want this time?” Bo-Katan asks with sympathy.

“That’s the point. He doesn’t know yet. He keeps asking me of ways to improve the tools but not giving me any ideas in the first place.”

“I will talk to him.” Bo-Katan says resolutely. “To be honest, I think that an upgrade of the armor is long overdue. Maybe together we can work something out.”

“Where is he by the way?” The Armorer nods at the office door. “He hasn’t returned my call, and I need to check on his vambraces before you leave.”

“Aren’t you going with us?” Koska asks. “Mando said he asked you to come too.”

“He did, yes,” the Armorer nods calmly. “But it is not my place, and we all know it. I will stay here and do what I’ve always done – make sure the armor you’re wearing is impeccable.”

“It is,” Bo-Katan gives her a fond smile. “But he’s not-“

The door bursts open and Din stumbles in calling for Triana.

“Well, now he’s here.” Bo-Katan declares.

Right after him follows Talyn, two human medics, and about a couple of dozen exhausted Ugnaughts. Din and Talyn rearrange the tables so they could sit all together while the medics checks on their injuries.

“We better give them the space,” Bo-Katan suggests, and the four of them tiptoe outside.

Cara bids her farewell to the ladies and is on her way to the speeder bike when someone catches her by the hand. Being caught off guard, she quickly recovers and sends the offender to the ground with a swift twist of her hips straddling him and squeezing his throat. Then, she recognizes the armor. “Ariel?”

“At your service,” he croaks, and Cara immediately releases her grasp on his neck.

She promptly stands up and reaches her hand to help Ariel to his feet. He accepts it with a smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, but you seemed so focused on your destination I was afraid you wouldn’t hear my calling.”

That’s possibly true, Cara thinks, and then studies Ariel.

He’s taller than her, but that’s not unusual. His exotic looks don’t strike her as much as his eyes. The deepest shade of the night sky blue, they fix her with a stare that intense she cannot move a muscle for a second. Dark hair is tied in a ponytail at the back of his head, but some stubborn strands are still falling on his face. Ariel stands still for a bit, probably trying to read Cara’s impression, but the next moment he flashes her a charming smile and offers his hand. “Please, let me walk you.”

Cara takes his hand with a chuckle. “I was going to take the speeder and check on my ship. I know it’s been taken care of, but…sometimes it just acts out.”

“Aren’t we all?” Ariel raises an eyebrow making Cara turn away and clear her head. This guy definitely knows what he’s doing.

“Have you been to Mandalore with Din?”

“I have. There’s been quite an intense negotiation with the Ugnaughts. I can understand why they are so angry, being trapped in those tunnels for all these years,” he shakes his head, apparently losing his train of thought.

“How is it, on Mandalore I mean?” They stop, having reached the speeder bike, and Cara puts a hand on its seat.

“Would you like me to drive you to the station? I could also show you around afterwards.” When Cara suspiciously narrows her eyes at him, he adds, “I will tell you everything you want to know about Mandalore.”

“Does Din know you’re skipping work?” To his credit, Ariel doesn’t justify it with an answer. “All right,” she gives in, “but I won’t cover for you if he asks later.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He gestures to a speeder parked a bit further with a challenge in his eyes, and they race each other to it.

*****

“So how was your day?” Din tiredly rubs his eyes with his gloved hand, then blinks trying to shake off the dirt and sand from his lashes with a muttered curse.

“Surprisingly good, I’ve been entertained.” Cara says over the rim of her glass.

They’re sitting in the office and having a late-night drink after a busy day. Bo-Katan and Ariel took their leave due to the early and no doubt stressful trip to the rendezvous point with the New Republic. Din should be heading home too, but he insisted on spending some time with Cara – with their schedules, they’re never going to properly catch up.

“Ariel is the best. Don’t know why he’s wasting his talents on us. Should’ve been traveling through the galaxy, charm Princes and Princesses of the worlds in their shiny ballrooms, find treasures at the bottom of the oceans, trick and deceive Pirates, Bandits, Warlords and free the people from their tyranny.”

“Maybe he will,” Cara suggests. “You know, when you’re finished here with the curse, and the peace on Mandalore is restored. Maybe he’s waiting for you to be able to join him.”

“And I should definitely agree,” Din muses enthusiastically. “It’s just the beginning, I assure you.”

“I’m glad to hear you think that. That’s inspiring.”

“We should take you with us,” Din continues, and Cara wonders if their drinks are different, because her head is still crystal clear. On the other hand, she doesn’t live this life every single day.

“I would have hated it if you didn’t.” And then, after a pause. “Do you trust Ariel?”

Din is half-lying on the sofa with his head resting on the back pillow, his eyes closed. “With my life,” he says not opening his eyes. “Why?”

“I can’t shake off the feeling that he’s more than he allows me to see.”

“That’s true,” Din says calmly. Then, he turns his head and looks at Cara. “But you will have to wait until he decides to share that part of his life with you. You will be surprised to know he’s no different than us.”

“Had he lost someone too?” When Din doesn’t answer, she holds her hand up in a placating gesture. “Alright, I get it, all in its own time. He’s an amazing host, by the way. I haven’t laughed that much in years.”

“Told you,” he closes his eyes again.

“How was _your_ day?”

“We convinced the Ugnaughts to leave their shelter, that’s a win number one. We defused the explosives we’d found in the tunnels they lead us through, that’s a win number two. And I am completely and utterly battered, so I will have no troubles sleeping come the night.”

“To the win number three then,” Cara finishes her drink and stands up walking up to Din and reaching out her hand. “Let’s get you out of here, or you will have creaks in your neck in the morning.”

“I am walking you to your residence, my Lady.” Din reaches for his helmet. He’s not drunk, Cara realizes, he’s just too tired to think, and he lets himself relax around her.

“Of course, you are,” she helps him with the helmet and leads him to the door. “It’s a good thing it’s literally next door, don’t you think?”

They scramble to the quiet street like two drunks who were thrown out by the innkeeper. “I would have walked you either way,” Din looks around. “Do you think this night will be peaceful?”

“I will pray to all the gods I’ve ever heard of if it helps. You need rest.” There is a shadow walking after them on the other side of the street. “I think someone is following us,” she whispers, but Din doesn’t bother to strain a muscle.

“It’s Talyn. When I stay late in the office, he comes to see if I’m still alive.”

“Talyn!” Cara calls out. Indeed, the shadow runs closer and shapes into Talyn. “What are you doing?”

Talyn gestures at Din. “He’s completely out of it, and some twerps keep chasing him for the weapon.”

“Come on,” Din drawls, “we all know I’m just pretending. Let them come.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here.” Cara admits. And then, it hits her. “Oh, skies! I’ve completely forgotten to ask you!”

She’s silent for a minute just reprimanding herself for being such a bag of douche.

Din and Talyn are standing at the front porch of the guesthouse and watch her take her breath under control.

“Have you forgotten again?” Din asks curiously.

Cara jumps the last steps separating her from Din and shakes him by the sides of his cape. “Aren’t you excited?” She bugs her eyes at him for emphasis, but it doesn’t help.

“Excited about what?” Din asks more alert now, and Cara releases her grip.

It’s dark on the street, and the only artificial light they have on is a small lamp at the guesthouse front door. “The Council with the New Republic.” Cara prompts.

Din doesn’t grant it even with a snort. “Why would I be excited about it? I hate politics, and I’m sure they won’t miss an opportunity to gloat and offer their professional opinion on our “problem”, even though they have no idea what that is.”

Cara clucks her tongue in frustration. “But you said yourself, Senator Leia Organa is the one who reached out to you on behalf of the New Republic. If she’s going to coordinate the meeting, then Skywalker will probably come along to help out, which means Grogu might be there as well.”

Din just stands still and watches Cara carefully. “Why would Grogu be there?”

Losing patience, Cara rubs her face blaming Din’s tiredness for such a slowness of the mind. “Because Skywalker will be there, and last I heard he had been training your child the Jedi way.”

“What?” Din takes off his helmet and passes it to Talyn. “A Jedi took Grogu.” He looks so out of it that it dawns on Cara with a crashing wave of clarity.

“Fuck!” She yells and then takes a deep calming breath. “You have no idea, don’t you?”

“Idea of what?” Din starts to lose his patience, and there is no trace of a relaxed and sleepy Din in him anymore. Cara spares a thought that she could have let him sleep and allow the events just happen on their own time. Too bad it’s too late now.

“Alright, no need to panic.” Din starts to look like a wild animal, and Cara puts all the energy she has left to emanate peace and tranquility. “The Jedi took Grogu. That’s right, nothing’s changed as far as I know although I know as much as you do, except for the Jedi’s name. Do you know the name of the Jedi who’s training your kid?”

“No! Why would I?”

“That’s okay, you didn’t have to. He saved our lives, and Grogu knew he was coming for him, that was plenty enough.” She watches Din closely now, and when she’s almost sure he’s not going to snap, she allows herself a tentative smile. “That was Luke Skywalker, the legendary Jedi, also the destroyer of the Death Star, I’m not sure which one exactly, the brother of the New Republic Senator Leia Organa Solo, and I guess a New Republic General - about that I’m not completely sure too. I’m not that much of a fan. Regardless, he’s a living legend.”

Din stays still and just watches her, the only proof that he’s still alive is an occasional blinking. Cara doesn’t dare to look away.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t know at first either. I just saw him in one of the holograms months later and I thought he looked familiar. When I’ve finally looked him up, it’s been more than a year, you were so busy with the mess on Concordia and Mandalore, and I didn’t want to bring Grogu up, you know.”

Din looks…dumbfounded for sure, maybe a bit nervous, and very much out of his depth.

“You’re not going to sleep this night, are you?” Cara looks pleadingly at Talyn. “Take him home, please.”

“Of course,” Talyn says but doesn’t move. “Commander,” he says quietly, “you’re going to see your kid soon, that’s great news, right?”

Din turns to look at him. “He’s fifty-three now,” he provides helpfully.

Talyn, stars bless his stoic acceptance of everything that goes with Din Djarin, just nods and ever so gently nudges Din in the direction of their residence. “That’s good. You’ve never told me you had a kid.”

“I’ve done everything I could to protect him,” Din nearly whispers. “I’d defeated Moff Gideon to rescue him. But it hadn’t been enough. I can’t teach him to protect himself. Only the Jedi can.”

“Yeah, I remember now,” Talyn says as quietly. “Back on the cruiser, Ariel demanded from Bo-Katan to introduce you to the Mandalorians, and when they started arguing you stepped up. I didn’t listen to what you had to say back then. I didn’t think it mattered.”

“It didn’t.” Din takes the helmet from Talyn’s hands. “It still doesn’t. You can’t explain away everything. Sometimes you just have to do what you believe is right.” Slowly, Din starts walking down the road, Talyn following right behind him. “Good night, Cara. Come see us off in the morning.”

“Good night, boys!” Cara says with a grimace. “Please get some rest, Din, I’m begging you!”

“I will.” They all know he’s lying.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Luke Skywalker.

Sometimes Din thinks his brain can do many things at once while his body is completely shut down. Right now, for example, he is sitting in a room with twenty or so strangers in full armor having no control over his constantly sweating palms and his mercilessly aching back while a part of his brain is listening carefully about the emergency protocols, bounty trades, security measures, and even whispers occasional notes to Bo-Katan sitting to his left. All the while another part of his brain has already inspected every face present at the Council table and realized with a disappointing finality that Luke Skywalker’s face is not among them.

Of course, he couldn’t get a shut-eye last night, not until he searched for Luke Skywalker’s name in every data-pad he had. Din was impressed by his service record, but there wasn’t much information about his Jedi status. Maybe it’d been disclosed, and Cara’s security clearance does not grant the access to it, but Din is certain that a man who can singlehandedly take out a platoon of the Dark Troopers must have a history of training with the best Jedi Masters.

He does recognize Skywalker’s sister sitting on the opposite side and keeping a hawk’s eye on each speaker, the intensity of her gaze must have been palpable, and Din cringes every time the said speaker looks her way and starts stumbling through their speech. Though Din is not intimidated easily, he’s glad they don’t have anything to report – they were invited to the Council as a favorable ally, but Din had made it clear no treaties will be signed at such an early stage of negotiations.

Now he feels useless and out of place. He knows it’s only a dashed hope affects his perspective, but knowing doesn’t hurt less, and the last twenty-four hours without sleep become more taxing with every passing minute.

He turns to look at Ariel sitting to his right in search of some sort of encouragement but finds his friend very much preoccupied with a pair of long legs in high heeled boots which as further investigation reveals belong to a giggling young woman in a crew uniform. Din is about to return to his lonely sulking but a person talking to the girl catches his eye.

He can’t see who that is exactly because the girl is blocking the view, but Din discovers that he’d completely missed a small monitor station located in the corner of the room where a few crew members are managing the lights and the hologram projections. When the giggling girl finally leaves, Din can’t help but watch Ariel crane his neck to follow her to the door. He even allows himself a smile in the privacy of his helmet, but then remembers about the unaccounted stranger and promptly switches his attention to the monitor station.

And suddenly he’s very awake, sweaty, and a lot of other things he can’t parse because they’re all thrown on him like a bucket of icy water. it’s become so hot inside the helmet a tiny vent emerges to life making annoying wheezing hum which adds to a cacophony of sounds the rushing blood creates in his head.

Luke Skywalker is standing at the monitor hub and watching the speaker with an open curiosity. Occasionally, a crew member approaches him, and they chat, but these conversations don’t last more than a minute, and then Luke returns his attention to the main event. His hair is a bit longer than Din remembers, and it makes him look even younger than he actually is. He’s not wearing any signs of distinction just a plain black suit sans the cape, but the lightsaber handle is right there strapped to his belt reminding Din about the Darksaber that found its place in the set of Din’s armor. He wonders if Grogu already has his own weapon.

Another smiling face distracts Skywalker, a man this time, most likely an admirer judging by the excited look and the way he cannot stand still even for a few seconds. _This is very irritating_ , Din thinks, because, again, he’s blocking Skywalker from Din’s view, and it’s already been a few minutes since they started talking, and the clingy bastard has no intention to leave.

They shuffle around a bit, and now that Din can see their profiles, he knows how close to each other they are standing, and he wishes they never moved at all. But it doesn’t end there, and the next moment the crikking weasel touches Skywalker’s gloved hand. The vent inside Din’s helmet works at full speed now, and for a moment he thinks he’s gotten blind. He hadn’t been that mad even when he saved Talyn from the bandits, and those scumbags were tearing apart his armor.

While Din’s conscious mind gets side-tracked with reflection of such a sudden fit of rage, Skywalker pulls his hand free and locks both hands behind his back all the while looking at the man in front of him with a serene smile. The conversation dies out soon after that, and the rejected fan has to make his retreat to the doors with Din watching his every step even when he has to recline his chair and turn his head at an impossible angle.

It must have taken more than a couple of seconds, because, in retrospect, Din must admit he heard Ariel shifted before he hastily began to move upright. By the time Ariel reaches out to Din, he’s already jerked his head back so fast neither of them can prevent the sound of a vambrace clanking against Din’s helmet. The collision rattles Din’s composure completely, and on pure instinct, he pushes Ariel’s hand away but his own vambrace hits Ariel’s pauldron with an even louder bang.

That doesn’t go unnoticed, and a ringing silence fills the room, the speaker looking at the Mandalorians with a silent question in their eyes.

“I apologize for our Regent, Senator,” Bo-Katan speaks softly. “You see, our brightest warriors got so used to combat, they can’t sit still for a few hours without a fight.”

“We have only two speakers left, Commander,” Leia Organa says in an icy voice. “I’m sure you’ll manage to hold that long.”

Bo-Katan nods respectfully, Din follows her example but he’s not sure he’s convinced anyone. When he turns to Ariel, his second commander pretends he doesn’t notice and looks straight ahead. However, Din sees Talyn’s shoulders shake with inaudible laughter.

His face is burning with embarrassment, and for a minute he forgets about the reason why it all happened until he sees Luke Skywalker’s smiling face, and his stare is directed right at him. Despite Din wearing his helmet, he thinks Skywalker is looking him right in the eyes, and as if to confirm his guess, Skywalker’s smile becomes wider, and he bows his head in acknowledgement.

Din nods in return and wonders how long they can keep staring at each other until someone notices, but a crew member in a mech jumpsuit calls out to Skywalker, and soon he leaves the Council room and doesn’t come back.

*****

The Council is held aboard a Pelta-Class Command Cruiser specially redesigned for such occasions, and Din and his company are accommodated in a large suite with a room for each of them and a spacious common area where the dinner had been already served when they arrived after the Council.

“I don’t know about you, guys,” Ariel declares studying the scheme of the cruiser, “but I’m going to get myself a proper drink.”

Din’s so tired, he barely managed to eat a bowl of soup, and all he wants right now is go to bed and sleep until they’re back on Concordia. But his mind refuses to rest torturously rehashing that particular episode at the Council and showing him Luke Skywalker’s smiling face every time he closes his eyes.

“You’re taking someone with you, or you’re not going,” Din’s voice is so quiet, he wonders if they can hear him at all.

“Oh no, I’m not going anywhere,” Koska takes her glass of what is most likely a very expensive wine from the table and plunges in the sofa resting her feet on a small ottoman.

“Don’t look at me,” Bo-Katan says to Ariel’s reflection in a large wall-to-wall window. She is standing right in front of it and watches the stars.

“Talyn, my dear, please come here!” Ariel yells looking at the door to Talyn’s room. Din made him take his food and go eat in peace.

Talyn emerges in a few minutes. “Are we going somewhere?”

“Oh, yes, we are!” Ariel reaches for his gloves and his helmet.

When they leave, Bo-Katan takes a seat across from Din in an armchair. “What do you think?”

Din shrugs. “Seems like something we should be interested in. The money they offer could give us the resources we need to start rebuilding Mandalore.”

“But we don’t have enough warriors to provide the security measures they require.”

“They don’t know that,” Din stands up and walks to the window. The view is so entrancing, he can’t take his eyes off it. It makes him think back to the times when he and Grogu were traversing the galaxy in Razor Crest.

“Can we at least go through the points we would like to discuss with them further?” They agreed to make the decisions together, and Din is grateful that she’s sticking to the plan.

“Sure,” he pushes the thoughts of all the Jedi in the universe to the back of his mind and returns to his seat.

***

It’s almost midnight, and Bo-Katan and Koska retired to their rooms a couple hours ago leaving restless Din to his own devices. He tried napping, reading, having a stroll across the suite – to no avail. Then he takes his helmet and embarks on a search mission for Ariel and Talyn.

Even though, he can easily guess their exact location – which is a bar on the docking level, he takes the longest route to get there, and he’s rewarded for his choice when he gets to march through a long hall with the entire outer wall made of armed glass. He even stops for a bit to breathe and appreciate the vastness of the galaxy and the drama unfolding right in front of his eyes.

When he finally gets to the bar, not only he finds his men there but a squad of semi-drunk New Republican Pathfinders and their Colonel. There are also a few members of the crew, but they mostly keep to themselves while the Pathfinder’s team has surrounded Talyn and bombarded him with questions about his creed, his armor, and his life on Mandalore.

Ariel is standing a few steps aside having a what looks like a heartfelt conversation with the Pathfinder’s Colonel. It’s the Colonel who notices Din first and straightens up.

“Commander!” Ariel calls out inviting Din over, “Please, please join us! Me and Colonel Tyrell were just talking about you.”

The lively chatter around Talyn gets quieter too, and Talyn makes a move to walk up to Din, but Din waves his hand no. “I don’t think there’s much to talk about,” he says steeping closer.

“You’re a living legend, Commander,” the Colonel says eagerly. “Please allow me to introduce myself. Colonel Tuck Tyrell, New Republic Pathfinders Special Forces.”

Din shakes his hand. “Din Djarin.”

The Colonel takes in Din’s armor and his look lingers on the Darksaber. “The one and only. Can I buy you a drink? It would be an honor, Commander.”

Din shrugs. “Sure,” and takes off his helmet.

The squad gets completely silent, and Ariel turns to look at them and wriggles his eyebrows playfully. “I told you he’s doing that now.”

The Colonel waves at the bartender, and the rest of the squad also gets a new drink. They all gather around Din and clink their glasses. Talyn is just hanging behind until one of the pilots pulls him into their circle, and they touch their shots against Talyn’s vambrace. Din is the last to hold his shot out to Talyn and he makes sure he gets a barely noticeable nod from him before he brings his glass to Talyn’s fist and downs the drink.

They disperse into the original groups after that, and Din spends about an hour talking with Colonel about their plans to build watch posts on small moons along the new Trade route. In his turn, he shares some information about Mandalore, most of which is a common knowledge, but Din makes it sound more personal, and he also shares some stories about the animals they’d gotten to find a home for on Concordia.

“Your name sounds familiar, Colonel,” Din casts an inquisitive look at Ariel in case he’s not supposed to ask about the officer’s missions, and Ariel could signal him to shut up. “Did you participate in the Battle of Endor?”

The Colonel squares his shoulders a bit and nods. “I did, you’re right. Good times they were. I was among the forces deployed to the moon of Endor to destroy the shield generator bunker. Not many of us were lucky enough to live to this very day. But you must have met Senator Leia Organa and General Skywalker, they were there as well.”

Din ignores Ariel’s raised eyebrow and thinks he has nothing to lose. “I’ve met the Senator at the Council, but I never got a chance to meet General Skywalker.”

“Oh, yes, he’s probably busy with the security arrangements. You have no idea how many bandits are trying to discover our location and kidnap the Senators. I’m sure a lot of them are also after the weapon you are currently in possession.”

“You have no idea how many times they’ve already tried,” Ariel supplies.

“But you shouldn’t worry,” the Colonel rushes to assure them. “General Skywalker is an outstanding Jedi warrior, and the bandits or whoever they are, they have no chance at getting even a glimpse of what’s happening on this ship.”

“Oh, I know.” Din says distractedly.

“So, you’ve met before?”

Din thinks about telling him a big fat lie but eventually finds the closest to the truth statement. “I know his apprentice, and I was wondering if I get to see them here.”

“The Jedi padawan!” The Colonel clarifies happily. “I know he has one but never saw anyone with the General.” Then, with a guilty expression he adds, “I was there when he arrived yesterday, there was only his faithful droid Artoo on his X-Wing, I’m afraid.”

Din nods agreeably. “That’s probably not a place for a young Jedi.”

*****

If Din knew all his restless mind needed was a simple knowledge that Grogu wasn’t aboard the cruiser, he would have asked Skywalker in the middle of the Council, the protocols be damned. The moment Colonel Tyrell assured him Skywalker arrived alone with his droid, something lifted from Din’s chest, something shaky, unsteady, and suffocating. Like a quicksand, the uncertainty was swallowing him alive. He was still bummed that Grogu wasn’t there, sure, but he couldn’t ignore the fear that Grogu might have forgotten him anymore. He had to admit at least to himself, this had been living in his thoughts for a few months – Grogu don’t need his help or protection, and looking at the Jedi who took him in, there aren’t many things he can offer to the little womp rat that can complete with the adventures a life beside Luke Skywalker must be filled with.

But gloomy thoughts or not, he’d gotten a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. To be more precise, he had been blacked out for the most of them, but who cares? He still woke up pretty early and had some time to busy himself before they had to be on a private session with Senator Organa and her party.

He showered, shaved, did some exercises, and then had a proper look at himself in the mirror.

“What are you so excited about?” He asks his own reflection.

He never gets excited. Well, maybe the day he’d sworn to the creed, but it’d been ages ago, and now that he knows what had been waiting for him, well…

But his eyes are sparkling with something he cannot understand. It’s not the lack of sleep, for sure, he’s a weathered warrior, he knows how to live through a discomfort brought by a limited rest time. It’s definitely not the Council with the New Republic. These negotiations are everything he’d thought it would be, and it’s unlikely something extraordinary happen at the reception after the official part is over.

But if he’s completely honest with himself, he knows what makes him so thrilled. The recognition in Luke Skywalker’s eyes and his smile. He smiled like Din mattered.

Din doesn’t know how to process that further, so he dresses up and departs for an amble around the ship. He takes the same route as the night before and loiters in the passageway with the glass wall. The space doesn’t know time, it looks mostly the same, apart from a sparkling stardust storm having extraordinary fun just outside the ship, but it helps Din notice the changes in his own state of mind. Acceptance wasn’t something new to him. He’d accepted the creed, his duties, his mission, only now the acceptance feels like a powerful weapon he can use to fight anything thrown his way.

He feels he’s ready. For what? He has no idea, but he will know when it comes.

He aimlessly wanders through the ship for a while until a noise draws his attention, and he follows it. It turns out to be a couple of young mechanics picking up on a familiar looking astromech droid.

Din doesn’t wait long before interfering. “What’s going on?” He asks standing between the droid and the mechanics.

“Nothing,” one of them replies, nonchalantly. “We’re just talking. Kind of. This rust bucket obviously has some glitches in its programming.”

“Maybe if you bothered to learn Binary, you wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Din hears the droid bleep something behind his back, and the voice inside his head tells him it’s best to walk his own way, but he’s just so full of energy, and the mechs are so asking for it.

“Why would I need to know its language when every new model can communicate in basic? It’s not my problem, it’s the droid’s.”

Din growls. “This droid is a war hero. He’s been in service to the Republic long before you were born, and I doubt you have any idea what had been happening at the time.” Truth be told, Din had not been that informed either, but that was the way of living in the covert, and he had to catch up with the events of the last hundred years so he could better understand the reasons of the folks he deals with sometimes, but he isn’t sure it’s justified to reprimand a starship mechanic for being ignorant of the galactic affairs. Anyway, they can be as oblivious as they want, but not to the point of plain disrespect of someone or something they consider unimportant. “Go your own way and next time think before you start making fools of yourselves.”

One of the mechanics elbows another with a nod in the direction of the elevator. “We should get going, just drop it, okay?”

The other one looks agitated, but a rested Din’s energy is clearly a force to be reconned with, so he just shrugs and shoves his hands in the pockets of his jumpsuit. “Whatever,” he drawls and walks by trying to hit Din with his shoulder but his uniform jacket catches on Din’s armor and gets ripped instead. “Damn!” He curses but doesn’t stop and follows his teammate to the elevator.

“Punks,” Din mutters under his breath, and then he turns to look at a suspiciously silent droid.

The droid bleeps something that sounds scandalized, and Din has to take a tactical step back in case the droid feels like stabbing Din with an electric pike. “I’m sorry,” he says sincerely. “I know you’re perfectly capable to handle those idiots on your own. I should start paying attention to my misplaced overprotectiveness, especially when I’m not on Concordia. Can we forget about this?”

The droid bleeps something neutral and then falls silent.

“I guess, it’s my clue to go.” Din turns to leave. “Sorry,” he says awkwardly and rushes to disappear around the corner as fast as possible.

***

When he gets back to their suite, there is a message from Leia Organa waiting for him. Din wonders if the droid could be so insulted that it had to complain to the Senator about him. He doesn’t actually believe it’s about the droid but hides in his room to listen to the message just the same.

The message apparently has something to do with their last night drinks with the Pathfinders. Senator Organa asks if Ariel and Talyn would like to join the Pathfinder’s team on a scout mission to the nearest moon where they want to build the first communication base. She said the Colonel Tyrell asked her to assure Din personally about the safety of his men and that they would be back before the reception so they could all have farewell drinks together.

“The Pathfinders are asking if you’d like to join them on a sightseeing tour to the nearby moon,” Din says after calling up his commanders.

Talyn reclines his head which means he’s frowning. “Us? Why?”

“Believe it or not, it seems you’ve made quite an impression,” Din looks at the clock mounted in the wall above the door. “They’re leaving in half an hour, docking platform E if you’re interested.”

Ariel looks questioningly at Talyn. “You’re up for this? I was hoping to get a chance to enjoy the elite-quality booze at the reception, to be completely honest.”

“They promised to bring you back before it starts,” Din says dully. “I wasn’t going to stay that long if you must know. Even made arrangements to take off as soon as we finish with the meeting with the Senator.”

Ariel squints at him suspiciously. “Are you saying you’ve changed your mind?”

Din grunts. “We could stay for an hour or two if you insist.”

“What do you say?” Ariel turns to Talyn again.

Talyn looks lost for a second. “Uh,” he shuffles from one foot to another impatiently. “Okay, I mean, I would like to go, I guess.”

“Then get ready!” Ariel says on his way to his own room. “Meet me here in ten minutes!”

Talyn is always ready, never takes off his helmet or his armor after the day starts, but he just shrugs and goes to his room anyway.

“That should be good for him,” Din says looking at the closed door to Talyn’s room.

“I must say, I’m surprised.” Bo-Katan takes a sip of her coffee.

“By what?” Din asks already guessing the answer.

“By your trusting the New Republic the safety of your best men.”

He sighs. “I don’t trust the New Republic. I trust them to keep out of trouble and get back safely.”

Bo-Katan nods looking at her coffee with a puzzling acknowledgement. “Now I’m impressed.”

*****

When Din, Bo-Katan, and Koska arrive at the private session with Senator Organa, she and four more attendees are already there. The leaders introduce their teams, and then Din takes his helmet off followed by Bo-Katan and Koska.

Senator Organa doesn’t bother to hide her surprise though she’s definitely accustomed to schooling her features into a neutral expression. “I was told you’re not allowed to show your face to any living soul, Commander.”

Din has no idea where this comes from, but he feels like he can get away with some teasing. “My therapist thinks I should open up to people more often, you know, for the planet’s sake.” He can guess Bo-Katan and Koska exchange sly smirks behind his back.

What Cara described as a fierce attitude Leia Organa possessed is now tinted with an annoyed displeasure, but while her eyes talk much, not a muscle moves on her face. Din envies such discipline. He could always hide his reaction under the disguise of his helmet until recently.

“I hope you’re as wise as cheeky, Commander. I wouldn’t want to disappoint our chancellor Mon Mothma to whom I personally vouched for you.”

“I’m sure you’ve got nothing to worry about, Senator,” Bo-Katan speaks softly. “Our Regent is nothing but wise and sensible. Him no longer following the creed’s requirements is a good example of his ability to sacrifice his own interests for the well-being of others.”

The Senator studies Din silently, holding his gaze in a steel shackles of her own eyes. Din thinks he does a pretty decent job at giving back as much, and in a few seconds she drops her gaze and gestures for them all to sit down.

“I believe you’ve narrowed down some points you’d like to discuss regarding the new Trade Route.”

Din glances at Bo-Katan. “Yes, I believe I’ve sent it to you this morning.”

“Very well,” Senator briefly skims the page displayed on a data-pad in front of her and folds her hands in a lock turning her chair to face Din properly. “If you allow me, I also have an offer for you and the people of Mandalore.”

And Din was beginning to think this was not gonna happen. “Of course, you have.”

“Please, hear me out,” there is a line between her eyebrows which doesn’t match the calm tone of her voice, and Din thinks it might be better if she just dropped the diplomatic act and be honest with them.

“I know what you’re going to offer us, Senator,” Din ignores Bo-Katan’s attempts to get his attention. “We don’t need the New Republic’ help. There is nothing you can offer us we don’t already have.”

“The military operations are quite expensive, Commander,” a Mon Calamari General joins the conversation. “We’re not trying to control you, merely offering help with taming the beasts attacking the moon Concordia and Mandalore.”

“They’re not attacking us, General,” Din tries to consider every word he has to say, but even if he tells them the whole truth, they will still think he’s lying. “What’s happening on Mandalore and Concordia, it cannot be fixed with weapons. We are learning to resist it, and we’re making progress, I wouldn’t want you to think we’re declining your help out of pride. It just wouldn’t work that way.”

The Senator wants to object but holds her tongue for a moment. Then she exchanges a quick look with the General and turns to Din. “What about scientists? We have some outstanding minds who would be happy to offer their expertises.”

“That won’t help either, I believe.” There is a voice coming from the side of the room where there was an empty chair just a minute ago. Now, Luke Skywalker is sitting there and he’s already standing up to walk over to the rest of them.”

“Luke,” the Senator declares coldly. Then adds, “General Skywalker, I was wondering whether you were going to join us.” She stands up and introduces Skywalker to Din and his party.

When Din shakes his hand, Skywalker looks at him with the same kind of smile and says: “It is so good to be finally introduced, Commander.”

“Likewise,” Din croaks.

“Have you met before?” Leia asks looking at Din and Luke back and forth.

Bo-Katan steps ahead and shakes Luke’s hand. “It’s been a very brief encounter.”

“Pretty memorable, however,” Koska reaches her hand for a shake as well.

Leia just waves her hand dismissively. “I don’t even want to know.” Then she turns her attention back to Luke. “You were saying.”

“Yes,” Luke shakes his head a little as if to clear his mind. “I was gonna say, he’s right,” he nods at Din and gives him an apologetic look for talking about him in third person. “The Force disturbance around Mandalore is extraordinary, I’ve never felt anything like that before. It’s strong, unpredictable, and I believe the source of it is located on the moon, not Mandalore.”

“Can you imagine what kind of source that is?” Leia doesn’t wait for Luke to answer and fires up another question at Din. “Can you think of anything that might be the source, Commander?”

Din looks around, but Bo-Katan and Koska just gape at him and shake their heads slightly.

Din turns back with a sigh. “I’ve never thought about it that way, I mean, I understand there is a reason for everything that’s happening on the moon and the planet, but a source…How would you even describe such a thing?”

Luke catches his gaze and holds it for a moment making Din sweat again and something heavy drop in chest. “I am as much at a loss as you are, Commander. The only difference is that I’ve got my Force sensitivity which allows me poke and prod the field around the planet and look for inconsistencies.”

“And what did you find, General?” Bo-Katan steps further and narrows her eyes.

“What I can tell for sure now is that there is an energy bridge between Mandalore and Concordia. It’s like Mandalore is feeding its energy to the moon, and this energy is being transformed into something I cannot fathom.”

“What would you suggest?” Leia asks him with respect in her voice.

“I want to ask your permission to visit Concordia, Commander.” He is looking at Din now, and there is a playful spark in his eyes, as if he knew exactly what that would mean for Din. He most likely does.

When Din doesn’t answer for a few moments, Leia returns to being a diplomat. “Are you sure this is necessary, General?”

“I believe I could find the source. I cannot promise I will be able to destroy it or even weaken its influence on the planet, but we will know what we’re dealing with. That’s a good start, I think.”

Before Leia can ask Din about his thoughts or doubts, he rushes to say, “You’re always welcome on Concordia, General. I’m grateful for your effort to help us.”

“Oh,” Leia lets out quietly. “That didn’t take much convincing.”

“Wonder why,” Din hears Koska’s teasing voice, and Bo-Katan clears her throat.

“Thank you, Commander,” Luke looks relieved. “I will leave you to your meeting then. I have some arrangements to make and…prepare my crew.”

“About that,” Din kisses goodbye all diplomatic tricks he’s been taught and sends a thank you to the stars that Ariel is not here to witness his clumsy excuses for hospitality. “Will you be coming alone?” When Luke face expression blanks, he adds, “We’re expecting a rather extended party from Vlemoth Port these days, and we’re a bit short on accommodation resources.”

“I’m not picky,” Luke says cautiously. “Neither is my droid Artoo, and I believe Grogu would want to stay with you just like in the old days at your starship.”

That statement does things to Din’s head and his heart and the rest of his systems that make him want to sing. Or maybe cry. Or even both. His hands are clutching the helmet so hard there sure will be bruises on his fingers. “Uh, of course. Uh. Will there be anyone else?”

When Luke doesn’t answer, Leia groans impatiently and tucks her elbow in Luke’s side. “He’s asking if you’re bringing a booty call with you, silly,” she mutters through her teeth.

Luke’s frown deepens. “What?” He looks down at Leia as if she’s told him they’re all going to have an orgy in a minute or two. “Why would I do that? I don’t…” He tries to say something a couple more times, but eventually makes a poker face and says: “No. Grogu, Artoo and me in my X-Wing.”

“Splendid,” Din says awkwardly, and he can hear Bo-Katan take a deep calming breath.

*****

Cara’s been laughing for the last half hour while Din is recounting their two-days adventure. “I can’t believe Talyn, of all people, gets to have new friends. He’s so…” she shakes her head unable to find a proper word.

“Annoying?” Din suggests.

She scrunches up her nose. “Not necessary. Maybe passionate is the right word. Or even furious.”

“That he is. But those Pathfinders are used to having extraordinary things for breakfast. I bet they would love to help with the creatures we’re dealing with.”

“Why didn’t you invite them over?”

Din looks at her haughtily. “Because all we need right now is more guests willing to help out?”

Cara laughs again. “I’m just teasing you!”

Din is sitting at his table with his hands resting on the top of the helmet in front of him. He studies it silently and then says, “Thank you. For everything you’ve done for me and my clan. You’re my dearest friend.”

“And you’re mine,” Cara gives back as honestly.

Din nods. “It feels like something new, you know, like it’s coming and there’s nothing I can do but accept it.”

“I know,” Cara agrees. “I wish I could extend my visit, spend some time with you and Grogu, but I need to be on Nevarro today. Karga has already called me twice.”

“Will you stay for dinner?” Din knows Cara won’t be able to decline such an offer.

“Of course,” she smiles indulgently.

“Did I tell you-“ Din stops mid-question and turns his head a little.

“What?” Cara asks quietly. She thinks Din is trying to hear something through the partition separating the office from the main room. Then he scrambles to his feet and bolts through the door leaving the helmet on the table.

“I’m sure he’ll be back for you,” Cara says to the helmet and runs after him.

She gets to the main room just in time to catch Din looking expectantly at General Skywalker while he and Bo-Katan exchange pleasantries. He doesn’t even say hello to his guest, but Skywalker doesn’t seem to mind.

“They’re waiting outside,” Skywalker tells Din and gestures at the small yard in front of the building.

Din is already on his way through the front door, Cara following close behind him.

“What’s going on?” Ariel catches up to her on the way out.

It’s not like there is a gathering in the yard, every being walking by acts like they’re minding their own business, but it’s hard to miss that they all slow down their pace to take a look at a pair that stands out among the usual Concordian crowd.

When Cara sees them, she can’t hold a surprised gasp. “Oh, Stars!”

There is an astromech droid standing on its three legs and turning its bleeping dome around, and right next to him there is a familiar greenish gremlin with deep knowing eyes and curious ears leaning its little hand against the droid’s side.

With his mouth wide open in astonishment, Grogu is looking up in the sky where a monstrous reptile is flying above them, its wings are casting a large shadow on the ground.

Grogu has grown a lot, and now he’s nearly half as tall as the droid. He’s wearing sandy brown canvas pants and a matching wrap around tie top, he’s got more hair on the top of his head, and it seems there are more teeth in his mouth. Overall, he looks more composed and grown into his own body. Affection is blooming in Cara’s chest, and she wonders what Din must be feeling right now.

Din is standing still, patiently waiting for Grogu to notice him, or maybe trying to get his bearings under control, but it’s not long before the droid starts shaking excitedly, and Grogu drops his gaze and meets Din’s.

They stand frozen for a while, even Grogu’s ears aren’t moving, but then Grogu starts walking closer to Din, and when there is only a couple of steps between them he easily takes off the ground and lands on Din’s chest wrapping his hands around Din’s neck.

Din holds him close, rubbing his tiny back, breathing heavily, and when Grogu leans away to look at Din’s face, he says, “Grogu.”

“Papa,” Grogu replies and links his arms around Din’s neck again.

“You’ve-,” Din rasps ignoring the tears sliding down his cheeks. “You’ve grown so much.”

When Grogu moves to take another look at Din’s face, he brings their foreheads together. “I’ve missed you so much, son.”

Grogu smiles and slides his hand along Din’s wet cheek. “Missed you, papa.”

Din kisses the top of his head and cradles him close to his chest. “Look at you,” he says quietly. “You’re talking now.”

General Skywalker is standing outside, and he and Din exchange knowing looks.

“Alright,” Aries mutters next to Cara. “Now I get it.”

“Do you?” She asks with a raised eyebrow.

Ariel just shrugs.

Din’s still holding Grogu in his hands but speaks to Skywalker. “I’m sorry I haven’t greeted you properly, General.”

“That’s perfectly fine,” Skywalker flashes him an understanding smile, but Cara thinks he’s a bit nervous if the drawing his hands in fists and then relaxing them repeatedly is his tell.

Din moves Grogu so he’s sitting in the crook of his elbow and facing the others. “Please, meet my friends. You probably don’t remember them, but these brave ladies helped me get you out from Moff Gideon’s,” he gestures at them to come closer. “Bo-Katan, Koska, and Cara.”

“Cara!” Grogu makes grabbing gestures at her with a smile.

“Hello, Little one,” Cara reaches her hand so he could grab her fingers. “I missed you something crazy.”

“Yeah, those were the days,” Din says a bit dreamily. Then he looks about searching for someone. “Talyn! Where’s Talyn?”

“I’m right here,” Talyn steps out from his hiding place behind a speeder bike and walks by.

“Grogu, these men are my good friends and very skilled Mandalorian warriors. This is Talyn,” he waits until Grogu gets an eyeful of the young man in the helmet, and then turns to face Ariel. “And this is Ariel. They all are friends of our clan, which means they are your friends too.”

Grogu and Ariel hold each other’s gazes for a long time until Ariel bows his head respectfully, and Grogu touches his armored shoulder right at the place where his clan’s signet is supposed to be.

Din glances at Skywalker apologetically. “Uh, General Skywalker, please meet my Commanders. Talyn Clarke, the Commander of Concordia Security. Ariel Stype, my second Commander. Talyn, Ariel, this is General Luke Skywalker, uh, he once saved our lives and single-handedly defeated a platoon of Dark Troopers, and now he is training Grogu to be a Jedi.”

“A platoon of Dark Troopers?” Talyn asks but thinks better of it and hangs his head.

Luke chuckles softly. “I was very determined to find Grogu, and those creeps were standing in the way, that’s all.”

“Wouldn’t want to be the one standing in your way, General,” Ariel confesses.

“You can all call me Luke. I’m not a fan of formalities.”

“Then we must get along just fine,” Ariel wriggles his eyebrows at Din clearly sending some sort of a message.

Din slaps his head with a palm of his gloved hand. “Um, I’m sorry, please, get inside, we’re about to have dinner.”

While they all trickle inside the cantina, Cara lingers on the porch just looking around and trying to parse the events of the last few minutes.

“Everything alright?” Ariel stands in doorframe holding it open for her.

“It is,” she steps forward. “I just can’t dismiss the feeling that something’s just happened, and I don’t know what exactly.”

Ariel laughs light-heartedly. “We will just have to wait and see, won’t we?”

*****

Cara can’t put off her departure any longer, and they’re loitering on the landing dock now while the Sonic Needle is being checked before the flight. Grogu is riding Din’s shoulders and points at random things he sees with an awed gasp.

“I must admit, I’ve started to worry about you,” she is glad Din is wearing the helmet now and she doesn’t have to see the reaction on his face.

“How come?” Din bends his head aside.

“Well, you know, the curse, the voices, all of this,” she tries to embrace everything that’s going on in Din’s life in a simple hand gesture. She’s not sure she’s succeeded. When Din doesn’t react, she adds. “Skywalker’s voice is pretty nice, I guess.”

Din turns on his feet to make sure Luke is standing far enough. “I didn’t know he was going to be at the Council until you told me.”

Grogu puts his hands on the top of Din’s helmet and looks at Cara playfully. “My voice nice.”

“Oh, stars!” Cara covers her mouth with a hand. “This is definitely something to get used to.”

Din rubs Grogu’s foot. “Don’t listen to her, pal. She’s just jealous.”

“I am not!” She argues, then looks up at Grogu and sighs. “Maybe just a little.”

Din opens his arms for an embrace, and Cara walks into a bone-crushing hug. “Take care, my friend.”

Cara feels Grogu put his hand on the top of her head. She steps back and waves at the little womp rat. “God bye, Grogu! Please look after your papa for me!”

Grogu waves back with a toothy grin. “Goodbye, Cara Dune!”

“Take care, Din,” she says slowly stepping away but still looking at them.

When she’s close to the boarding ramp Cara notices Ariel and slows down.

“Until we meet again?” Ariel throws his hand out for a shake.

“Until we meet again,” she takes his hand but pulls him into a hug instead.

Ariel laughs and shuffles a bit. “I must admit,” he looks back to where Din, Grogu, Talyn, and Luke are standing, “it does seem like it’s not going to be that long.”

Sara squints at him suspiciously. “Do tell.”

Ariel hides his eyes. “No can do, my Lady. But I bet you will hear from our Commander very soon.”

Cara nods. “I trust you to keep a watchful eye on all of them meanwhile.”

Ariel puts his hand to his heart. “You can count on me.”


	4. Chapter 4

Looking at the Sonic Needle disappearing from view, Din realizes he is equal parts excited and at a loss of what to do. He waits until Ariel catches up to him so they could both entertain their Jedi guest. It’s late, and Din doubts it’s a good idea to explore the moon right now, besides, he would like to spend some time with Grogu, find out what he’s been up to for the last three years.

Ariel studies him and pats his back. “New territory, huh?” He asks sympathetically as they start walking towards Luke.

“How do you know?” Din asks back. “Is it written all over my armor?”

Ariel gives him a friendly shove. “Of course not! You’re the paragon of composure.”

Din can’t see him walking by his side, so he has to turn the upper half of his body because Grogu is still sitting on his shoulders. “Really?”

Ariel cackles and turns him back. “Of course not. Your entire being just screams it.”

“Damn!”

Grogu giggles at the curse.

“You should watch your tongue around this one,” Ariel suggests.

“He knew what he was getting into when he saved me from that hairy Mudhorn.”

“Oh! A Clan story! I love clan’s stories!” Ariel is so cute at this moment Din almost believes him.

“Don’t get over-excited. I sold him for a camtono of beskar right after that.”

“Well, you came back.”

When they get to Luke, they shuffle about awkwardly. Luke’s expression is not making things easier. Most likely, he can feel Din’s confusion and even indulges in it.

“I think,” Din starts, but his comm beeps with an incoming link from Talyn. “Excuse me,” he holds out his hand in apology and opens the channel. “What is it, Talyn.”

“You need to get to the desert,” Talyn sounds resolved but a little bit disgusted too.

“How big is it this time?” Din is already imagining a huge slimy worm, and he’s shivering all over.

“It’s not the right question. It’s how many of them.”

“What?”

“Hurry up!”

Din takes Grogu down and cradles his tiny hand in his own. “I’m sorry, buddy. There’s something we need to do.”

“Is it another animal?” Luke asks.

“Talyn says it’s more than one.” Din turns to Ariel. “Bring the Doc to the desert.”

“Meet you there,” Ariel ignites his jetpack and takes off.

“Luke,” Din starts having no idea how to continue.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take the speeder bike,” Luke assures him. “Can we join you though?”  
Din fights the weird feeling of overprotectiveness that had multiplied over the course of the last three years and tells himself to trust the Jedi. “As long as you keep at a safe distance. At least until we know what we’re dealing with.”

“Fair enough,” Luke agrees. “Go, we will find the way. Come on, Grogu.”

Din doesn’t wait any longer and rushes to join his people in the desert.

***

At first, Din thinks it’s a giant amphibia that crawled out of the depths of the ocean, completely flat and hairy with seaweed. But the creepy monster starts coming apart into a swarm of little fish or maybe eels.

“What in the star’s name is this?” He lands just in time to catch an example of the slimy gargoyle thrown at him by another Mandalorian who just couldn’t find it in them to hold it long enough to have a proper look.

“My apologies, Commander. I don’t know why I did that.”

“Try leaving them on the ground next time!” Din says through the open comm link so the rest of the warriors could hear him.

“I hope you won’t ask us to keep it alive,” Talyn says between gasps. He’s probably killed a hundred of them already.

Din raises the creature in front of his eyes looking at its head and teeth. There are three more worming their way towards him, and he activates the flamethruster on instinct. The creatures scram into opposite directions. Then he turns the flamethruster at the slowest speed and brings its close to the creature in his hand. It wriggles and tries to get away from the heat, but Din is holding it in an iron grip by its tale.

“Use your flamethrusters. They hate heat,” he looks around and his eyes catch a crater left after a small lake that disappeared about a year ago. “The lake crater! Push them in there!”

“Don’t you think they will easily get out of it?” Talyn asks doubtfully.

“Commander is right. They scatter as soon as they feel the heat,” someone shouts through the link.

“Let’s focus on gathering them in one place first,” Din suggests and sighs in relief when he sees a familiar figure of Doctor Kritzer running towards him. “Glad to see your joining us, Doc.”

“I came as soon as I heard,” the Doctor looks at the wriggling creature in Din’s hand. “May I?”

“Yes please,” Din readily hands him the thing. “Talyn!” He calls.

“Yes, Commander.”

“Do we have any transport with empty water tanks?”

“A couple. I’ve been meaning to fill the tanks with the ice just in case. Why?”

“Fill them with the ocean water and dump the water into the crater. Let’s see if they can swim as fast as they can crawl.”

“Got it, Commander.”

“Wait. Add ice, too. As much as you can spare.”

Talyn starts shouting commands through the link while other Mandalorians aided by different citizens of Concordia push the throng of little snakes into the crater. Some of them stray away, but they don’t seem to understand what to do when being cut off from the colony.

“Do you have any good news for me, Doc?” With the corner of his eye he catches Luke and Grogu getting off the speeder bike and looking for him. He’s about to wave at them but they’ve noticed the commotion at the crater and are heading that way.

“It’s not sentient, at least not at this stage of development.” The Doctor puts his finger in the creature’s mouth.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Din shivers.

“It’s aggressive, but it’s nothing new given the circumstances. Its teeth are too soft to break the fabric through. I would say, those are hatchlings fresh from their eggs.”

“What? What kind of creature would lay such an enormous clutch?”

“A creature who lives in a world which you have yet to see,” the Doctor tries to calm the creature down, but it wouldn’t stop wriggling.

Ariel lands next to them in a cloud of sand dust. “Did I miss anything? Why are you putting those things in the crater? And what is with the salt water? Are you going to pickle them?”

“Well, we’d better if what the Doc is saying is even remotely true. I wouldn’t want to see one of these bastards grow as big as its supposed mother.” Din starts towards the crater, Ariel and Doctor Kritzer follow him.

“Then why can’t we just burn them?” Ariel asks walking backwards and looking right at him.

Din stops and gives Ariel a long hard stare through his visor.

Ariel waves his hands in defeat. “Alright, alright! Forget I asked!” They resume walking. “Well, maybe if the lake disappeared, they will too with time.”

“Your instincts to put them in cold water are correct,” the Doctor says, “it will slow them down, but I’m afraid we’ll have to freeze them in it, and I cannot think of a way to keep the water frozen in a warm Corelian climate.” They walk closer to the edge of the crater where Luke and Grogu are staring at the crawling fry.

Grogu looks mesmerized while Luke glances at Din with sympathy.

“Welcome to my life,” Din tells him with as much irony as he can muster.

Ariel’s well of brilliant ideas never cease to produce them. “We could put them in empty tanks, bring to the deep space and then, you know, release…”

Din doesn’t acknowledge that with even a grunt. He takes the fry from the Doctor’s hand and throws it into the crater. “Find a way to keep them frozen, Doc. We’ve got some generators, but they will drain us of fuel in a week.”

“What are you going to do with them?” Luke asks while Grogu chases one stray fry.

“We need to keep them frozen.”

“Din is thinking of opening a sushi restaurant, you see,” Ariel relentlessly insists to be listened.

“Commander, that’s all we’ve found,” Talyn says through the link.

The crater is now half-filled with water, and the hatchlings are poking their heads above it for air, but they don’t look like drowning at any minute.

Grogu finally catches the fry and holds it mid-air with the Force.

“Please don’t eat that,” Din begs. “We’ve no idea what that is.”

Grogu obviously doesn’t share his precautions because he snatches the fry with his clawed hand, quickly tears it in two parts and swallows both parts with very little chewing.

“Well, now we know he’ll never starve here,” Ariel comments.

“Grogu,” Luke crouches next to him to say something quietly. Grogu happily agrees and walks to the edge of the crater.

“What did you tell him?” Din asks, a bit bummed that Grogu doesn’t listen to him when it comes to the eating habits.

“He never listens to me about meals either,” Luke complains. “But it looks like he knows his limits and preferences very well. Don’t worry.” Then he watches Grogu raise his both hands and close his eyes in concentration. “I asked him to freeze the water permanently.”

“Can he do that?” Din asks a bit wary of the Doctor still standing close and listening to their conversation.

“We won’t know until we try. He can manipulate substance quite accurately. I’ve never mastered this skill, it requires extraordinary concentration, and I’m still very impatient for a Jedi.”

Din chuckles. He can relate to that.

Grogu doesn’t look like he’s trying too hard, but there is steam above the water surface, and when it clears out the water is perfectly still and solid. Someone pokes it with a pulse blaster and declares it being frozen.

Din stands on one knee next to Grogu and pats his shoulder encouragingly. “Good job, Grogu. Very good. Will it hold? I mean, won’t it become water again?”

Grogu curls his ears down at the praise and then raises both hands triumphantly. “Ice! Forever ice!”

Din takes him up on his hands and turns to Luke. “You’ve arrived just on time.”

*****

Putting the flock of alien crawling hatchlings under ice kind of helped break the imaginary ice between Din and Skywalker. Not that they desperately needed that, in the end, they have just only met, it’s perfectly understandable that it would take some time before they feel comfortable around each other, but Din appreciates the opportunity to do something together anyway.

Now they’re walking through the farmer’s village to Din’s residence and the silence between them doesn’t sound so strained.

“Luke, I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the Council,” Din remembers the episode with Ariel and his awkward questions the next day and he wants to cringe. He actually does because the helmet won’t tell anyone.

“You don’t have to,” Luke assures him. “Believe me, you’ve made a good impression on the Senators, and they all are looking for the ways to seduce you into an alliance.”

“They sure didn’t look that way,” Din grumbles.

“Because they don’t want to give you the advantage. It’s politics.”

Grogu is running in front of them chasing random animals and birds. It’s getting dark, and Din tries to keep an eye on him just in case. “You seem pretty comfortable around them.” He wonders if it sounds like a reproach and why it’s so important for him to hear Luke defend himself.

“I try to stay away as much as I can, but my sister, it’s what she does all her life, and looking after her means learning the ropes and not standing in her way. You sure know what it’s like.”

Din thinks about Grogu and how he had to let him go so he could learn to protect himself. It still hurts, but looking at the happy bouncing womp rat in front of him puts some kind of medicine in the old wound, and all he can do is smile. “I do. Um, to be completely honest, I had no idea who you were and that you might be at the Council.”

“I figured.” Luke’s laughing voice is so soft and comforting, Din has to turn to look at him. There are dimples on his cheeks, and his hair is falling on his face when he looks down. Something squeezes in Din’s chest and doesn’t let go. It hurts too, and Din can’t find the right emotion to compensate it. It wants something, it demands Din to take Luke by the hand, pull him into an embrace, tuck him in the folds of his heart that seems to have grown to the size of a starship.

“Cara told me about you the evening before our departure, and then I couldn’t be myself until I knew for sure you hadn’t brought Grogu with you.”

“I didn’t want him to stay in the bunk alone, Artoo had some things to do too, and besides, I didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention.”

“That’s wise.” Din looks at Grogu again. “He’s grown so fast. How could it happen?”

“I can only assume,” Luke says contemplatively. “Grogu’s body is a manifestation of the Force itself. He can’t grow until he lets the Force flow freely through him. Once we started training, the growing sped up, and at some point I thought he was going to be taller than my dear Master Yoda. He was the only other living being I knew of the same species as Grogu.”

“Asoka told me about Grandmaster Yoda. She said the same thing of him being the only one she knew.”

Luke nods. “We’re probably talking about the same Master.”

“Did he train you?”

“Yes. Not for long though. He was several hundred years old when I met him. But he used to visit me through the Force.”

“Does he now?”

“No, and I have no clue why. I know it sounds insane, but it looks like the curse of Mandalore is affecting me somehow. That’s why I wanted to explore it.”

“Oh,” the bird that took flight from Din’s chest flaps its wings at the loss of inspiration and sits on a nearby branch.

Luke covers his eyes and shakes his head. “That sounded completely wrong.” He stops and puts a hand on Din’s chest to stop him too. “Grogu wanted to be here. He kept asking about you, and the training has come to a halt. I figured it’s time for you to reconnect, and Grogu was so excited to see you. But then my sister told me about the curse, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s like I have to be here for my own reasons.”

Din’s cheeks flush from the intensity of Luke’s gaze. “I don’t mind,” he says quietly.

Luke hides his eyes again, and Din wants to say something else, but he’s distracted by the yells coming from one of the village yards.

At first, he thinks it must be another animal, but they never appear in the village, just like rainfalls, fires, or tornadoes – they all begin in the desert. Then he realizes that Grogu is nowhere to be seen and his heart drops to his feet.

“It’s Grogu,” Luke says, and they start running.

It’s a short sprint to the yard with an open gate, but Din has already imagined all possible and impossible ways Grogu might be hurt. What he doesn’t expect is for Grogu to hurt someone.

And that he does. There is a man hanging on an invisible thread in the air and grasping for his throat while Grogu is holding him with the Force in a chokehold. Din can’t see who the man is, but by the anger and fear in Grogu’s eyes he can easily guess.

Din ignores the woman begging him to do something and runs straight to Grogu dropping to his knees in front of him.

“Grogu,” he says in a broken voice letting all the pain and the guilt he’d felt be there on the display for Grogu to sense. “It’s okay, Grogu. He’s not gonna hurt you anymore. You don’t have to be afraid. I’m right here, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Grogu closes his eyes for a while seemingly fighting something inside himself.

“Please, Grogu,” Din glances at the misfortunate man still high in the air but looking rather pale now than blue from the lack of oxygen. “Killing him won’t change what happened to you. If you forgive him, we could move on. I cannot do that without you. He has his own son now, maybe he learns to be a different man with his help. Do you think you can let them do that?”

Grogu looks at Din, and all Din wants to do is to scoop him in a hug and never let go. And so he does as soon as Grogu releases the man and reaches his hands to Din.

“It’s okay, son.” Din tries to comfort him just like Grogu’s soft breaths heal his own wounds. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

The man, Doctor Pershing, walks closer and kneels beside them bringing his palms together. “Thank you,” he says and looks questioningly at Din.

“Grogu,” Din says urging Grogu to face the man whose image is probably filling his nightmares.

“Grogu,” Doctor Pershing ducks his head. “Please forgive me for what I’ve done to you. I never meant to hurt you. I was so worked up with the stupid idea I let into my head, I couldn’t think of anything else.” He looks at his wife standing beside their simple hut. “I want to move on, but your forgiveness would mean a world to me.”

“I forgive you,” Grogu says calmly and touches Pershing’s forehead with his tiny hand.

*****

What’s called Din’s residence among the citizens of Concordia is actually a former junkyard where the imperials used to store their weapons and ammunition. At first, it consisted of a dozen or so square-shaped barracks with a roof and a door but without windows or even flooring. There was also a docking platform in the middle of the yard, and that was the first thing Din had demounted because he didn’t want any transport to be able to land near his living quarters. Then he picked the least attractive barrack and made it his home.

With some help from his friends, he managed to turn it into a small house with a bedroom, a kitchen and even a cozy lounge area on the porch. The rest of the barracks he deemed useless and suggested to either take them apart and use as building materials or store the said materials in them.

Surprisingly, his opinion on the matter fell on death ears, and in the course of the next few months he’d found a blooming garden in place of the docking platform, and the barracks being fixed to look more like small huts and not like the cattle sheds.

When he started making inquiries about the driving force behind the reconstruction and no one even batted an eye while telling him they had no idea, he realized all the signs pointed at Triana. It should have been bothering him that she had more power than him when it came to domestic affairs, but nothing Triana ever did had been in vain or in order to simply make a statement, so he decided to personally find out what was on her mind.

She laughed for about ten minutes, making Din blush like an overgrown child who asked his teacher where kids are coming from, but then she sat across from him at the table and grabbed his hands in a tight grip.

“Are you going to stay alone for the rest of your life?” She asked seriously.

“I’m not alone,” Din said defensively. “Me and my son are a clan of two.”

“Then you should build him a home of his own. You’re not expecting of him sleeping in your room for the rest of your life, surely?”

“No,” Din says uncertainly, and that was his first give. “Okay, two houses. Why would I need more?”

“For your clan! For the friends of your clan, for your family!”

Din makes his face as threatening as possible. “The fact that I’m not wearing the helmet all the time anymore doesn’t mean I’m in search of a spouse. I know what you’re whispering about with the girls from the village. Stop it! I mean it.”

She nods reluctantly. “We didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m sorry if we did. But you cannot put up walls between yourself and the rest of the world. They will keep coming, and one day, maybe years or even decades from now, you will meet someone who you would want to be with you all the time.”

And that was his second give.

Although Talyn wasn’t Din’s clan, after Grogu, he was as close as one, so Din suggested him to pick a house and settle in. Talyn surprised him by not putting up a fight or fussing about it and simply moved in in one of the houses beside the pond. It was the farthest hut from the one Din claimed for himself, but Din rejoiced in small victories those days.

Talyn turned out to be a very handy groundskeeper. He cleaned the pond and populated it with all kinds of fish and flowers, he completed fixing the rest of the houses and made them look cozy and lived in, he even made furniture with his own hands. When Din asked him when he’d gotten such skills, because in fighting corpse, Din hadn’t learned much beside the art of combat, Talyn just shrugged and mumbled something about remembering growing up in a village where they used to make everything with their own hands. Din didn’t pry much after that.

With Talyn’s help, he decorated a small house next to his own which he intended for Grogu. They started with painting the walls and installing stained glass in the skylights. In the end, it looked more like a gingerbread house than an actual living quarters but the excitement on Grogu’s face is worth a million Ariel’s snarky remarks.

“Do you like the house?” Din asks Grogu while tucking him under a plushy blanket.

“Beautiful,” Grogu manages to say, and then adds, “Missed you very much, papa.”

Din throat tightens but he keeps his emotions under control, for Grogu’s sake. “Listen to me. Whatever happens, I want you to know I will always be with you. Remember that.” He reaches for a pocket in his bandolier and holds up a small metal knob between his fingers. “I want you to have it.”

Grogu levitates the knob mid-air and then pulls it into his palm. Din puts his hand on top of Grogu’s and looks him in the eyes. “I am so proud of you, son.”

Grogu blinks at him and squeezes Din’s hand with his free hand. “Proud of you too, papa,” he says and holds his gaze for a few moments before yawning softly.

Din smiles and pecks his forehead before standing up from the bed and turning off the light. “Sleep tight.”

When Din closes the door to Grogu’s hut, he finds Luke patiently standing in the garden and watching the night sky. The stars are bright enough to let them see each other without any artificial lights, and Din feels the bird in his chest flutter its wings again preparing for a flight.

“I hope you meant it when you said you weren’t picky,” Din says approaching him and hears Artoo bleeping somewhere behind a tree.

“I did, but you never told me I was going to get a house.”

Din spreads his hands in an inviting gesture. “Pick any, they’re all equally tiny and poorly furnished.”

“I’m sure they’re excellent,” he points at the house closest to Grogu’s and Din’s.

Din walks him to the door and fights the urge to make a nonsense of himself and hold Luke’s hand. It helps to remember watching the same hand wringing a Dark Trooper in an armor like a bath towel. “Do you need anything?” He asks instead.

“I will be just fine. Thank you for your hospitality. It’s been a lovely day,” he says with a teasing smirk.

“You’re funny, General. Do people tell you that?”

“All the time,” Luke waves his hand dismissively.

That makes Din think about other people who know Luke and how they’d been friends with him before he’d met Din, and it all makes him feel out of place. It’s weird, so he dismisses the emotion and clears his throat. “I’ll be just behind that door,” he points to the front door of his house. “Good night, Luke.”

“Good night, Din.”

When Din shuts his door closed, Luke is still standing in front of the house and watches the sky.

“Skywalker,” Din whispers like it’s a forbidden spell and the word makes him smile.

*****

Din usually wakes up before six, and the sun is already up this time of year, so the first thought he has in mind when he opens his eyes and there is a greyish hue seeping on him through the curtain is that he’s woken up too early again. Then he realizes that it’s not morning twilight but a cloud blocking the sunlight, and the thought is more disturbing now – he’s slept in. The next thought is comforting – it’s late, and Talyn hasn’t woken him up which means no disasters so far which is definitely a good thing. And only then does he remember the events of the day before.

He’s up and dressed in record time, barging through the door and looking at the other houses. Grogu’s and Luke’s doors are open, but they’re nowhere to be seen. He hears Artoo bleeping in the distance and follows the sound.

He finds Luke and Grogu sitting on a patch of grass near the pond with their eyes closed. On the other side of the pond he finds Talyn watching them and talking to Artoo.

“Good morning, Commander,” Talyn says and hands him a cup of tea.

Din reaches for the cup instinctively but catches himself. “No, you have it. I’ll leave you to it.” He turns to go.

“I made it for you,” Talyn tells his back.

“Really?”

Talyn shrugs. “I figured, you would be in such a hurry to meet your son, you wouldn’t care about the tea. And we all know how grumpy you get when you miss a morning cup soothing your nerves.” Artoo bleeps something and Talyn snorts out a laugh. “It’s still warm.”

Din grabs the proposed cup and makes a sip feeling better is a second. “I’m not grumpy.”

“Now you’re not.”

Din nods at Artoo. “How come you know Binary anyway? Another thing you’ve learned while you were little?”

“No,” Talyn says in a monotone voice like he’s telling this to Din out of obligation rather than actually wanting to share that piece of his past. “The covert that took me in, they didn’t like me much, at least those who saw me before I took the creed. But there was a droid, an old clanky unit, she didn’t care about who I was. She taught me her language, accompanied me when they sent me to steal supplies, told me stories when I was too bored and restless and not allowed to get out. That’s how.”

“Does it bother you much?” Din asks hesitantly. He doesn’t talk about Talyn’s past often, not even when Talyn himself shares some information about it, but now he thinks he’s got to ask.

“What?”

“Being different.” Din doesn’t wear the helmet and although he’s watching Luke and Grogu he knows Talyn is studying him very carefully.

“Does it bother you?” Talyn parrots.

That would be the last thing to bother him, Din thinks. “No.”

Something begin to happen around them - rocks and branches are lifted from the ground and form a small vortex above the pond. Grogu and Luke elevate too, their eyes are closed, and their faces are serene and open. Even the fish is being pulled from the pond and moves in circles, its wet scales catch the flickers of the sun and play on Din’s face and Talyn’s helmet.

“Is it dead?” Talyn asks. When Din looks at him questioningly, Talyn nods at the fish.

Din shakes his head. “I think it should be fine.”

“I guess you’re right,” Talyn says after a pause.

Din feigns delight. “It’s so good to hear it from you, but may I ask about what exactly?”

“Grogu is different. And you don’t give a crikking fuck.”

Din can’t decide whether he should feel defensive or proud. Talyn’s right. And he is telling the truth. He doesn’t give a damn about who Talyn or Grogu are – they’re his family now. Maybe Talyn doesn’t have to know that yet, but there will be time when Din asks him to join their clan, and hopefully Talyn would agree.

“There is nothing more important for me that my bond with Grogu. Power, rules, the creed – they mean nothing to me if they make me choose between them and the child.”

Talyn hangs his head. Artoo bleeps merrily supposedly trying to cheer up the mood and change the subject.

Talyn listens to it and says: “I will take you to meet her after breakfast.”

“Take him to whom?” Din asks with a frown.

“Remember the droid handling the transport with a fire extinguishing unit?”

“Yeah, is she still contemplating my offer?

“I’ll ask. Artoo wants to meet her and I was going to introduce them today.”

“There’s something I need you to do for me.” Luke and Grogu are slowly getting to the ground, and Din rushes to speak before they join them. “Luke wants to explore the desert, maybe we’ll go to the mountains, I’m not sure. It’s not the most exciting activity for a child, but I will ask him if he wants to join anyway.”

“What do you need me for?”

Din looks at Talyn. “I need you to keep him safe. I know he can take care of himself now, but those animals, fires, storms…”

“You don’t need to worry. I will watch after him.”

“Good.” Din only has time to say before Luke ang Grogu join them.

“Good morning,” Luke says cheerfully. “What a great morning for concentration practice.”

“We’ve noticed,” Talyn checks the fish in the pond. It moves slowly, like it’s been deafened by a close explosion, but it seems to be getting over it. Then Talyn looks at Grogu and notices a fish tail in his mouth. “Hey! This fish is not for eating!

Talyn sounds hurt. Like, really hurt. There isn’t much on this planet that he expresses affection to, but this pond – he built it, every stone, every plant, every fish – they’re all part of him now. Din wants to help, to explain all this to Grogu, but his heart tells him to wait until they figure it all out on their own.

Grogu must have felt Talyn’s distress because he curls his ears guiltily and says: “I’m sorry. I ate only one.”

Talyn stays silent for a moment, then says: “I guess, one is okay. I was going to bring new species from the lake anyway. If you want, we could go there together. You could help me pick new fish and we could visit the beast that’s living there. Would you like that?”

Grogu raises both hands in the air. “Yes!”

“Well, if you’re still hungry, there is a nice breakfast in the cantina,” Din suggests.

“Always hungry,” Grogu says over the grumble of his stomach.


End file.
